Texas A&M sent Alabama to its second straight defeat with a 56-53 victory in College Station.
Of course, there was nothing ordinary about a game between two teams that have a tendency to play defense better than they play offense.
The Aggies went the final 7:40 without hitting a field goal, yet still managed to hold on thanks to hitting a lot of free throws down the stretch. Texas A&M finished 26-for-37 from the free throw line, while Alabama only went 7-for-9.
The usual duo led the way for Billy Kennedy’s squad as Robert Williams scored 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Davis added 13 points.
Williams also had one block in the game, which extended his nation-long streak to 28 consecutive games with a blocked shot.
Ar’Mond Davis paced the Crimson Tide with 11 points.
Blake’s Analysis:
This outcome doesn’t surprise me. As I discussed in the Saturday predictions post, this had letdown written all over it for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama started off well enough, but just didn’t have that same type of energy after losing that game (and its NCAA tournament hopes) against Georgia on Wednesday.
Texas A&M has lost several closes games in SEC play and it somehow managed to win this game despite the lengthy scoring drought and only shooting 31% from the floor.
This game doesn’t mean much for the Aggies going forward, but I’d keep an eye on them in Nashville. They have the talent to disrupt NCAA plans for potential NCAA bubble teams (although, at this point, Vanderbilt appears to be the only remaining team to fit that criteria).
As for Avery Johnson’s team, the ceiling is only so high for a team that can’t score. Alabama plays defense well enough to win games in March. However, it’s tough to trust this team on the offensive side of the floor.
The final two games of the regular season will tell us a lot about whether the Crimson Tide are equipped to make things interesting in the SEC tournament.