The Texas A&M Aggies fought hard, but eventually lost the opening game of the season which is a disaster for the ranked team.
The Aggies played against a tough UCF Knights squad and entered the game as just six-point favorites over the team. The Knights proved to be a worthy adversary, drawing 24 personal fouls and taking a total of 31 shots from the free-throw line. While the Aggies battled hard, the team simply could not hold onto a lead without getting into foul trouble.
The Aggies have big expectations this season, but may have to rethink many things after the initial stumble against the Knights. Texas A&M funneled the offense through guard Wade Taylor IV who averaged 19.1-points per game for the Aggies a season ago. Taylor IV had an off night, shooting 4-of-11 from deep and 4-of-15 from the floor overall.
With the guard struggling, the Aggies had no really offense to rely on against the Knights which led to multiple scoring droughts. The Aggies tried to play perimeter basketball, but ultimately shot 36.5% from the floor out of 63 attempts that mainly consisted of jumpers. The Texas A&M Aggies defense also did the team no favors, with the Knights virtually scoring at will at times against the defense.
The Aggies held a ten-point led at one point against the Knights in the second-half, but eventually allowed the lead to slip away. The Knights shot 11 free-throws in the final seven minutes of play which helped solidify the comeback and the upset win for the team.
For the Texas A&M Aggies, this is going to have to be a learning moment for the team moving forward with the schedule they have.
What Went Right, What Went Wrong For the Texas A&M Aggies Against the UCF Knights
While a lot may have went wrong for the Texas A&M Aggies against the Knights, there was also a lot that went right for the team in the game.
Starting with what went right, the Aggies looked great when they moved the ball and generated some sort of offensive motion. The majority of the game the Aggies found success just passing once and pulling up for a shot. However, the team looked significantly better when the ball was moving and the team was setting up plays against the Knights, which they should have stuck to.
What really went wrong for the Aggies was the defensive aggressiveness of the team in the paint especially. No free baskets is an admirable approach on defense, but there has to be restrictions and the team needs to foul intelligently. The Aggies often attacked the scorer after he had already gained excellent position, and with a team that can shoot free-throws efficiently sending the team to the line consistency is a bad idea.
Moving forward, the Texas A&M Aggies really need to figure out a way to find offense without the help of Taylor IV. When the guard was not shooting the ball well, the team looked lost and allowed the guard to try to shoot out of his slump. The Aggies need backup plans for games like this when the best scorer is having an off night.
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