Why Texas A&M Basketball Was Able To Hold Onto Lead Against LSU

A nail-biter for both Texas A&M and LSU is only one of the ways to describe how the first SEC game of the 2025-26 season went at Reed Arena.

Outlasting the Tigers, who entered the game as a unit scoring 89 points, 40.1 rebounds, 15 assists, and 6.1 steals per game, was a tall task to overcome for the Aggies’ defense that was short one of its best players in junior transfer Mackenzie Mgbako.

Coach Bucky McMillan’s team, which entered the contest 1st in assists per game, 1st in bench points, 4th in points per game, and 7th in 3-pointers made per game, proved why the Maroon and White can be a problem in the SEC and was able to escape with a win.

But that wasn’t the entire reason the Aggies held onto the lead late.

“We found enough stops to give us a chance,” McMillan said. “Our guys have to commit to playing as hard as they can for as long as they can. We were fresh for the majority of the game.”

Making Free Throws / Out-Rebounding

There haven't been a ton of games where the Aggies have relied on drawing fouls and getting to the charity stripe, but making free throws down the line was one of the factors that helped pull out a game that had the entire arena crossing its fingers.

Saturday afternoon, A&M’s offense recorded only 21 trips to the free-throw line, where 15 went through the nets, which wasn’t a ton but is arguably one reason the Tigers travelled home disappointed that the defense wasn’t disciplined enough.

“We made free throws,” McMillan said. “We can probably shoot them even better than that. The fact that we shot more free throws than they did and we outrebounded them was a very good sign for our guys. You get to the free-throw box by exploring the rim, and that’s got to continue.”

In the last seven minutes of the game, the Aggies knocked down eight free throws that counted when it mattered, as the Tigers were in foul trouble and trailing for most of that time.

Forward Rashaun Agee and guard Rylan Griffen did the best from the line, making 11 of the 15 shots. Without those opportunities set up by the offense to produce enough looks to score, the outcome would look different, with LSU having a chance to walk out with a huge road win.

Another area of emphasis McMillan touched on that he wanted to highlight was rebounding.

“We won the rebounding battle,” McMillan said. “That was really good to see. We won 38 to 30. We had 15 offensive rebounds. Doubled up on offensive rebounds. If we can do that, we can compete because we are a little smaller.”

Working Inside & Out

Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan — Nov 18, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan celebrates the win over Montana Grizzlies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Going into the contest, it wasn’t a surprise that A&M was a smaller team now that Mgbako is out for the season, and McMillan knew that, but he worked with the pieces of his lineup that handled business.

Starting with a four-guard lineup wasn’t ideal for the Aggies, but it was the formula for getting to 1-0 in SEC play, and it worked, as 36 points were scored in the paint and 29 off the bench.

With forwards like Agee, seniors Federiko Federiko and Zach Clemence, as well as sophomore Jamie Vinson, the options helped with feeding the ball to whoever was open, whether that was behind the arc or in the paint, to spread the ball around and play unselfishly.

From the field, A&M shot 42 percent and 29 percent from downtown. Knocking down mid-range jumpers, not hesitating on 3-pointers, and attacking the glass powered the program to an 11-3 start to the season.

“Can’t always control if the ball goes in the hole. We made 28 percent of our 3s, but you can control how hard you played unselfishly, so it was good to close it out.”