Nearly halfway through league play, Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams offered the bad news first.
“We’re not the best team, I’m not the best coach, and we don’t have the best roster,” Williams said.
The good news came next, on the heels of the Aggies’ 68-61 comeback victory over Kansas State on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
“I do think there is a skill in how hard you play,” Williams continued, “and I do think you can’t count the spirit in which you compete. I think over the last seven days we’ve seen some of that.”
There was some evidence of Aggie zeal late against K-State, although the Wildcats (5-13, 1-8 Big 12) are one of the Big 12’s two worst teams. K-State led 58-55 with 2:12 remaining before the Aggies closed on a 13-3 run that included six free throws from Andre Gordon and four more from Quenton Jackson.
“January hasn’t been the easiest of months for the (Aggies), and for them to be able to close the month out in the fashion that they did … they continue to stand their ground, and that’s what gave us a chance,” Williams said.
Texas A&M (8-7, 2-6 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak courtesy of a former conference foe, and it achieved something it never did as a Big 12 member from 1996 to 2012: win a basketball game in Manhattan, Kan.
“It’s great to get back to our style of play in this Big 12 challenge,” A&M forward Emanuel Miller said.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Wednesday night against another team struggling in league play: Vanderbilt. A&M’s scheduled game at Vanderbilt on Jan. 20 was postponed because of multiple COVID-19 cases within the Commodores program.
“We need to get better in 4,212 different ways,” Williams admitted of his ongoing reclamation project, “but they’re beginning to be accepting of whatever way it is we’re trying to improve that particular day.”
A handful of improvements were evident on Saturday, albeit against a K-State squad that lost 107-59 to No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday in Waco.
The Aggies made all 11 of their free throws in the game’s final minutes, and finished a season-best 84.6 percent from the free-throw line (22 of 26). A&M turnovers, too, were in single digits (nine) for a second consecutive game after the Aggies averaged 16.5 in their previous six games, twice registering 19 in that span.
And four Aggies — this time Gordon, Miller, Savion Flagg and Jay Jay Chandler — scored in double figures in the same game for the first time since late last season in a balanced attack.
“There is some traction with our guys,” Williams said.
The Aggies were coming off a 78-66 home loss to LSU on Tuesday, and all six of their setbacks in SEC have been by double digits. Their two league wins over Auburn and Mississippi State have come by a combined three points.
Williams said he hopes the Aggies continue to take “incremental baby steps” as the season wears on.
More Stories
3 Facts About Why You Should Use Product Comparison Shopping
History Of Solitaire Card Game
Bowling Games – Low Ball Bowling, 3-6-9 Bowling, and More!