Here's Why Texas A&M Really Struggled Against the Texas Longhorns

Another week saw Texas A&M add another game to the loss column, which is not what teams want to be doing, especially since it is March now.

What hurt just as much was that it came against their rivals down the road, which gave Texas a slighter cushion as a bubble team and kept head coach Bucky McMillan’s team in the bubble conversation.

So what was the biggest difference between the Aggies and Longhorns in the second matchup after the Aggies stole the first contest in Austin?

“They stepped up and made tough shots late, we didn't,” McMillan said. “We're both tournament-level teams, but it's a play here and there, and their guards made those plays late. Going forward, we have to get to the next game.”

Texas Shooters

One of the areas McMillan was spot-on about in his postgame remarks was that the Longhorns' guards could not be guarded, which, in turn, hurt them down the stretch.

“I thought that their guards made some really good plays in the game, late in that game,” McMillan said. “It was a separator.”

Head coach Sean Miller relied heavily on guards Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark, who accounted for 40 of the 76 Longhorns’ points.

Pope concluded by making 6 of his 11 field goals, while Mark converted 7 of his 13 and was a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe, another area where Texas punished A&M down the line, as Texas finished 15 of 16 from the line.

There were also two other Longhorns who reached double digits, and those two playmakers who gave the Aggies’ defense issues were forward Dailyn Swain and center Matas Vokietaitis. Swain recorded a double-double as he collected 11 points and 10 rebounds, as his teammate Vokietaitis was a force inside, amassing 14 points.

No matter what A&M’s defense did to try to change up the look, there was never an answer offensively to compile a comeback as the 30-29 lead at halftime remained for only 45 seconds before Texas held the lead the rest of the way.

“We didn’t make some of the ones we normally make,” McMillan said. “I thought we played good enough defense. Thought we played really hard.”

Limited Playmakers

As of lately, it’s been all forward Rashaun Agee and guard Marcus Hill on the offensive end for the Aggies, as there have been concerns about why the other starters in the lineup and from the bench have been struggling to buy enough baskets to steer the season back in the right direction before it becomes too late.

“We need some of our perimeter players to step it up a bit,” McMillan said.

The Chicago native registered 22 points in the loss with eight rebounds and eight made field goals off 17 attempts. In his 27 minutes of action, Agee kept the game manageable with his solid defense as well as three-point attempts, as he was the leader of the team with six, which typically isn’t normal for an A&M team that sees others step up in that role to knock down those shots beyond the arc.

“He is a great three-point shooter,” McMillan said.” If he can go two for six, he is right at the math of it. It’s room, rhythm, and balance. I think he’s got to do enough to keep the defense honest.”

Transferring from NC State, Hill accumulated 17 points with eight rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Despite not receiving enough help on senior night, when he and Agee were celebrated, he said he shared words of encouragement with his teammates to spur them on.

“Just keep shooting,” Hill said. “We’re gonna find them.”

Even though the Aggies have dropped six of their last eight games and are in a shooting slump, there is still complete confidence from the leader, who has assembled a relentless roster.

“There’s a great fight, a great tenacity, a great no quit attitude,” McMillan said. “We know what time it is. We got to roll, and we got to be guns blazing Tuesday in a very important game.”

A&M hosts Kentucky at Reed Arena on March 3 at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.