COLLEGE STATION — The defensive upside of “Bucky Ball” made an appearance for Texas A&M basketball in its SEC opener.
In the final two minutes of Saturday’s game, the Aggies (11-3, 1-0) forced three turnovers and held LSU to just one field goal for a 75-72 win.
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It wasn’t easy, but head coach Bucky McMillan didn’t expect it to be.
MORE AGGIES: Texas A&M basketball vs LSU: Aggies take down Tigers in SEC opener
“We lost the SMU late by not executing our press break; we executed it tonight,” McMillan said post-game. “We won the rebounding battle while being smaller. Our guys fought so hard. We’re going to have to fight so hard to overcome our size.”
Here’s how A&M took down LSU (12-1, 0-1 SEC):
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Ali Dibba (6) of Texas A&M dunks the ball during the first half of the game against East Texas A&M at Reed Arena on Dec. 21, 2025 in College Station. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
Aggies negate Tigers’ length, height
Heading into Saturday’s matchup, A&M knew they had a size disadvantage, with only two players taller than 6-foot-7 who average more than 10 minutes per game. LSU features six such players.
Even so, the Aggies outrebounded the Tigers 38 to 30 and tied them with 36 points in the paint. They doubled LSU up on the offensive glass, 15 to seven.
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A&M continued to find success from their bench, totaling 29 on the night, led by guard Ali Dibba (12 points). The game featured five lead changes, most of them in the second half. The Aggies led for 31:18, but LSU cut down a double-digit lead to pull ahead for the first time in the second half with about five-and-a-half minutes left.
But the Aggies were able to outlast the visitors.
Part of the Aggies’ strategy to combat the height disparity was to keep players fresh, with 11 players seeing action, and all but three playing at least 12 minutes.
“We’re in better shape now to continue to play defense,” McMillan said. “We found enough stops to give us a chance. Our guys have to commit to playing as hard as they can for as long as they can.”
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How ‘Bucky Ball’ went in it’s SEC debut
Key to the undersized Aggies; identity: shoot 3-pointers and play end-to-end defense, hoping to force mistakes. McMillan’s near-patented play style led to back-to-back Southern Conference titles with Samford, but questions persist about how it would work in the SEC, where 14 teams made the NCAA Tournament last season.
On Saturday, the Aggies shot only 29% from beyond the arc and lost the turnover battle, 16 to 15. Despite that, A&M captured a conference win in McMillan’s SEC debut.
His team held a three-point advantage at the midway point despite shooting just 25% from the field in the first half, thanks to a 10-point advantage in the paint. A&M maintained solid leads (nine in the first half and 10 in the second half) throughout the game, but had to withstand LSU runs at the end of each period.
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LSU took brief leads with a minute left in the first period and 5:33 left in the second.
“A dog fight,” forward Rashaun Agee, a USC transfer, said of his first SEC game. “Fighting for 40 minutes, we understood it. Each game in the SEC is going to be a dog fight for us, and we’re okay with it, especially the way we play.”
No LSU players finished with a positive plus/minus, while the Aggies had eight such players.
Agee’s team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds—his sixth double-double in 14 games— proved the 6-7 forward can be a difference-maker, even in conference play.
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McMillan notes his experience as a main reason why.
“He’s about 50 years old. His eyes have seen it all,” McMillan joked. “He’s got veteran eyes and has the loudest voice, so he can call it out for his teammates.”
Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.
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