Alabama Basketball Opponent Preview: Texas A&M Aggies
Alabama basketball wraps up its regular season on Saturday in College Station, playing the Texas A&M Aggies in a matchup between the SEC’s top two teams.
Alabama has already secured the regular season title and the no. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, and is coming off of an emotional comeback win in overtime against Auburn. Because of these factors, it will be interesting to observe the Crimson Tide’s energy levels and motivation in this game.
A&M enters this game ranked 24th nationally, with a 22-8 record and a 14-3 league record. The Aggies are 14-1 at home, and will have a chaotic home environment as they welcome in the conference champs and the no. 2 team in the country. Their only home loss was back in December against Wofford, which was just one of several baffling non-conference losses for Buzz Williams’ squad.
In SEC play, Texas A&M has only lost at Kentucky, at Arkansas, and at Mississippi State. A&M is led by a pair of high-quality guards in sophomore Wade Taylor IV and senior Tyrese Radford.
Taylor IV is a complete player that leads the Aggies with averages of 15.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Radford, a former transfer from Virginia Tech who has started over 100 career games, adds 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per contest.
In the frontcourt, former Duke transfer Henry Coleman and Michigan State transfer Julius Marble form an undersized yet very physical duo. Coleman gives the Aggies 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while Marble contributes 9.5 points and 4.4 boards per contest. On the wing, Wichita State transfer Dexter Dennis scores 8.9 points and grabs 5.6 rebounds per game.
Texas A&M has a gritty team that defends well. It is an experienced unit that pairs toughness in the frontcourt with really good guard play, a tough combination to beat in March. Although this game no longer has postseason implications for Alabama basketball, the Crimson Tide want to end the regular season on a solid note before heading to Nashville.
Next. Wild Saturday to wrap up SEC play. dark
Let’s see if Nate Oats’ team can take care of business on the road one more time.