Texas A&M (20-7, 12-2 SEC) is a very good team and more than worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid after what they’ve accomplished during SEC play so far this season. But, like every contending program, consistency on offense or defense remains a widespread issue, but when the wins keep coming week to week, fixing those issues becomes less of a burden.
For the Aggies, winning four consecutive games leading into their tough road matchup against the Missouri Tigers (19-8, 7-7 SEC) was just another challenge Head coach Buzz Williams’ squad would take head-on with a sole focus on the opponent at hand, and on late Saturday afternoon, the challenge was readily accepted. From start to finish, Texas A&M’s huge first half provided enough of a second-half cushion to handily defeat Missouri 69-60 for their third home loss of the season, while the Aggies earned their 12th win in conference play and fourth SEC sweep, which includes three Tigers (LSU, Auburn, Missouri).
Dominated by Wade Taylor IV and Dexter Dennis, Taylor scored 21 points and 4 3-pointers, while Dennis recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Tyrece Radford’s 12-point outing.
Missouri was led by senior guard Kobe Brown with 24 points and 6 rebounds, and senior guard D’Moi Hodge’s 12 points, the only two players with double-digit scoring efforts for the Tigers.
The first half conveyed a locked-in Aggies starting unit, picking up where they left off defensively in their Wednesday night victory against Arkansas, suffocating the high-scoring Tigers on the perimeter, and completely disrupting Missouri’s half-court offense. After a quick 5-0 run to open the game, the Aggies began trading baskets at the 13:07 mark, as senior guard Kobe Brown and D’Moi Hodge hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take an 11-9 Missouri lead. As both defenses continued to stifle each other’s attempts at building offensive momentum, Dexter Dennis scored Texas A&M’s next 7 points at the 5:53 mark, combined with a Wade Taylor IV deep shot to take a 27-21 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
After leading Texas A&M in scoring against the Razorbacks, Wade Taylor IV continued his outstanding play, contributing 10 points in the Aggie’s 15-4 run to close out the first half, including a 3-pointer with just 7 seconds left to take a 39-25 lead into halftime. At the break, Taylor and Dexter Dennis both provided 14 points and 9 total rebounds, while the team…
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