After two season-changing wins over back-to-back AP top-15 ranked opponents, Texas men’s basketball was brought back down to earth Saturday evening.
With all of the progress made during the Alabama and Vanderbilt games, Texas cocooned back into familiar, early-season woes, struggling on both sides of the court to open up the night.
It was a slow, lethargic game and took until the end of the first half to see either team get anything going offensively — Texas only shot 5-21 in the field with 6:23 remaining in the first. Fortunately, the Aggies couldn’t make a shot either, shooting 7-20 near the same time stamp.
“It was a couple of shots that they maybe forced us or baited us into taking that, or maybe a bit rushed, or not necessarily the shots that we are used to taking,” senior guard Jordan Pope said. “But at the same time, those are shots that we’re all capable of making.”
The Longhorns were on the other side of the equation, falling 74-70 to the Texas A&M Aggies. The victory marked the first time since January 2002, when both were still in the Big 12, that the Aggies won in Austin.
It’s also Texas A&M’s first win at the Moody Center. The last time they claimed victory, the game was played at the now-demolished Frank Erwin Center. The loss snapped Texas’ 11-game home win streak in the basketball edition of the Lone Star Showdown.
“This game is no different than any other SEC game, right? I mean, Texas doesn’t get three losses for that. We don’t get three wins,” Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan said.
Rivalry game or not, the tunnel to the visiting team’s locker room truly sounded like a team that had just beaten its rival on its own home court for the first time in over two decades.
And that’s when the music started blasting — the unmistakable bass creating ripples in the water bottles on the press conference podium.
“I totally understand rivalry games. I totally understand fan bases,” McMillan said. “I want all the Aggies back in College Station, the best city in the state, to be celebrating really hard tonight.”
One of the keys to the Aggies’ strong push to close the first and open the second was their ability to build and maintain momentum.
Texas A&M was hot, hitting four consecutive shots near the end of the half, and even with a clutch three-pointer by graduate guard Tramon Mark to tie the game up at 29, the Aggies came out even stronger, taking control of the game in the second.
Even when the Longhorns were inching back at the end of the second half, completing four field goals in a row, the Aggies remained persistent. Texas A&M was able to roll down the court and blow through the Longhorns’ defensive coverages to maintain its lead late in the game.
“In the offensive end, we pretty much got whatever we wanted. Got a lot of good looks, even though they messed up the rhythm of the game a bit,” Pope said. “It was just defense. We got good shots. We were making big baskets, but then, we were coming down and giving it right back.”
Next, Texas will face college basketball blueblood Kentucky at Rupp Arena at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday.