Dennis Gates responds to idea Missouri should’ve hunted fouls vs. Wade Taylor, Texas A&M

Texas A&M led Missouri for the bulk of the game on Saturday afternoon, building a sizeable early lead before watching it get whittled away slowly by the Tigers.

When the game came down to the wire, Aggies superstar Wade Taylor hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time ticked down.

Some wondered if Missouri should have made a more concerted effort at drawing a key fifth foul on Taylor, who had four fouls late in the contest.

“Sometimes you can spend a lot of time trying to focus on that, but if it’s not in rhythm and you don’t have the opportunity then I think a really experienced player is not going to put his team in a disadvantage and pick up a fifth,” coach Dennis Gates said. “And you have to understand that.”

Gates was proud of his Missouri team for battling back after a bit of a rough start. The team started in a 12-0 hole in the game but managed to claw back slowly, eventually catching up all the way in the second half.

Taylor’s late heroics ended the comeback bid, but not before Gates was able to praise his guys.

“I think what our guys were able to do is defend at a high level and ultimately get us back in the game,” Gates said. “I’m proud of them for doing that. From a strategic standpoint they executed the gameplan for about 35 to 30 minutes and not the full 40. And I thought we spent too much time trying to be perfect and not just playing with our instincts. And Texas A&M took advantage of that to start the game.”

Like most nights in the SEC this year, playing a full 40 minutes is paramount. Missouri simply dug itself too big a hole early on.

“We were two different teams when it came down to the start of the first (half) to the start of the second,” Gates said. “Two different approaches, and I credit our guys for regrouping in the locker room. And I think that’s a positive when you’re able to identify those points of growth for your team and also for individuals. We ended up, like I said, executing a gameplan.”

There were a few key areas that Gates pointed to as being the difference in the game. He outlined them following the contest, hopeful his group can do a better job in the future.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late for Missouri on Saturday.

“We were even on offensive rebounds to one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Where we wasn’t even was with the points we gave on their second chance, with the points we got on our second chance,” Gates said. “The other part of that, our transition points. We were at 17, they were at two. We were at 26 bench points. So when you look at and try to figure out where did we lose the game, it’s small things and conversion of the second-chance points is one that stands out to me. And that’s where Texas A&M is one of the best in the country. Not just receiving the rebounds, but also second-chance points. And we wasn’t able to execute how we wanted to.”