HOUSTON, Texas (KBTX) – Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams said he sought out Houston as an exhibition matchup to use as a barometer for how the program has progressed since the 2023-24 season ended at the hands of the Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday in the Fertitta Center, the No. 13 Aggies were miles away from five-point loss in the spring, dropping the charity exhibition contest 79-64.
The Aggies turned the ball over 15 times resulting in 22 Cougar points off turnovers and were dominated on the glass 40-29.
Williams said he would face head coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars for every preseason warmup because of the high-level competition his teams provide.
“I think it gives you a true temperature of what’s required to compete at the highest level,” Williams said.
Wade Taylor IV paced the Aggies in points with 18, followed by fellow guard Manny Obaseki with 14. However, Taylor uncharacteristically turned the ball over a team-high six times in the game.
Saturday felt more like the exception than the rule for Obaseki, who said issues with turnovers and rebounding haven’t been a problem in practice leading up to Saturday’s warmup.
“I feel like we were prepared. We were ready. We just didn’t come out with the spark that we needed,” Obaseki said.
Here is the game rundown:
Why did A&M lose? A victory was always going to be out of reach against KenPom.com‘s No. 1 team in the nation without the Aggies’ two most athletic players: transfer guard Zhuric Phelps and standout defender Solomon Washington.
A&M struggled on the defensive glass early, which gave Houston a definitive advantage in putting shots up. Both Washington and Phelps will be a big aid in the rebounding game, as well as on defense.
Houston closed out the matchup with 19 offensive rebounds to A&M’s 10.
In the second half, A&M got specially sloppy with the ball, resulting in 13 second-half turnovers in the game. Houston took advantage by posting 13 points.
Both Washington and Phelps could have played Saturday, but Williams decided the right decision for the health of the season was to sit the pair. Phelps has been missing from practice due to injury for approximately 24 days, while Washington has been out with his own injury for nine.
What was learned about the team? Without Washington and Phelps on the floor, it’s hard to extrapolate much on how this Aggie team will fare moving forward. So much of A&M”s overall game plan is predicated on dominating the boards and Phelps and Washington will factor heavily into that. Anyone who isn’t Taylor in the starting lineup needs to be good at pulling down boards.
In a carry-over from last season, the Aggies struggled with close outs on the 3-point line, which resulted in Houston hitting 14 of 31 from behind the arc.
Who stood out? Houston guard L.J. Cryer was a force from 3-point range, hitting 6 of 12 for a team-high 18 points. Cryer is in his first season with Houston after transferring from Baylor.
For the Aggies, the most inspired play came in the waning minutes of the game, when the likes of Rob Dockery, Chris McDermott and Jaelyn Lee provided a spark.
McDermott, a freshman, finished with four points and four rebounds. Dockery netted seven, including a late 3-pointer.
“They don’t really get a lot of reps at practice… So for them to come out there and just kind of lead the charge a little bit, I hope that was pretty encouraging to the coaching staff, and it was for sure to the team,” Obaseki said.
What was an important stat? The Aggies shot 42% from the field, but, due to Houston’s offensive rebounding and turnovers, the Cougars hoisted up 19 more shots than the Aggies.
A&M also got to the free throw line 31 times, but hit 68%.
“We turned the ball over at too high of a rate today in front fans and we turned the ball over at too high of rate in [last Saturday’s scrimmage against Baylor],”Williams said. “We can’t do that and our defensive rebounding has to be dramatically better.”
What’s next? The Aggies begin the regular season on the road with a Nov. 4 showdown against UCF that tips off at 6 p.m. A&M opens the season at home against Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m. November. 8.
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