COLLEGE STATION — In front of a rowdy student section hoping to see an upset, Texas A&M men’s basketball turned in one of its worst offensive performances of the season, falling to Florida 86-67.
The Aggies (17-6, 7-3 SEC) started the game 1-for-27 from the field and hit just one of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half. They went into the break trailing 30-19 and were unable to threaten the defending champion Gators (17-6, 8-2) en route to their second consecutive loss.
A&M led for just nine seconds of the game, finishing the contest 31% from the field and 26% from beyond the arc.
A&M was outrebounded by Florida 50-43, and demolished in the paint 48-24. The Aggies are usually strong off the bench, but the Gators beat them there as well 31-28.
Aggies’ guard Marcus Hill scored a team-high 17 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Forward Rashaun Agee led the way for A&M on the boards with 11 rebounds.
For the Gators, forward Thomas Haugh led all scorers, finishing with 22 points while shooting 5-for-12 from the field. Center Rueben Chinyelu led them in rebounding with 15.
Next up for A&M is Wednesday, as the Aggies host Missouri.
Final updates from the action:
As A&M falls behind by 23 points, the once-ruckus crowd has begun making their way to the exits. There’s no way around it: Florida has been the better team wire-to-wire, and all of the height and talent deficiencies many were worried about for this Aggies team reared its head tonight.
As the offense continues to struggle, A&M finds itself slipping away from contention. The Aggies are shooting 23.7% from the field and 23.3% from beyond the arc.
Florida made eight shots in a row and went on a 14-1 run to extend its lead over A&M.
Things have gotten worse for the Aggies coming out of the break. The Gators are 5-for-5 coming out of halftime and have forced an A&M timeout as they pushed their lead to 19.
A&M just looks outmatched in every way. It’s being outscored, outrebounded and out-hustled. The result is a 14-point deficit at the final media timeout of the first half.
The Aggies missed 23 consecutive shots and have not made a basket in over 10 minutes of game action. The Gators haven’t been much better, shooting just 33.3% from the field, but because of A&M’s inept offense, they lead by 10.
A&M’s offense is nonexistent, scoring zero points since the first media timeout and shooting 5.6% from the field in the first eight minutes of the game. It is 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Offense has been a struggle for A&M early on, scoring just two points in the first four minutes of action. Florida’s size and defensive pressure have made it hard for the Aggies in every way.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena
TV/radio: SEC Network, 1370 AM in Austin; 1150 AM, 93.7 FM in College Station.
Moneyline: Texas A&M +230, Florida -295
Spread:Texas A&M is a 6½ point underdog
Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.