Buzz Williams takes blame for Texas A&M struggles, Arkansas loss

Texas A&M has played itself on to the bubble in the last week. Three straight losses for Buzz Williams and none of them have been particularly pretty. Tough NCAA Tournament resume blemishes with Arkansas and Vanderbilt plus a 25-point loss to Alabama have the Aggies in a slump.

Williams took the podium following Tuesday’s loss to Arkansas and took the blame for the struggles. He will have to go back to the drawing board, looking for new ideas to help Texas A&M improve. Things need to change quickly as well with the calendar nearing March.

“At the end of the day, I have to do better,” Williams said. “We did some good things. But the things that are really important to us, we didn’t do well enough. The margin is invisible. And we don’t want to lose — at home or on the road… We haven’t been in this position before. I have to continue to find ways to help. I have to find ways to adjust. I have to find ways to help our guys be even better.”

Talking specifically about Arkansas, Williams laid out all of the areas where Texas A&M struggled. He was disappointed with how well the Razorbacks did well around the rim, even when not making layups. Ten offensive rebounds can be devastating.

“We fouled way too much,” Williams said. “When we didn’t foul, we gave them way too many points at the rim. When we didn’t foul, when they didn’t score at the rim, we didn’t finish enough possessions with a defensive rebound. We got fouled, we got to make a higher percentage of our free throws.

“It’s not one thing that’s really different than the things we always talk about. It’s just accumulation of not quite good enough in too many categories. We’re not going to be perfect… It’s all of those things added up. And all of those things added up is a seven-point loss at home to Arkansas.”

Williams needs to make sure things are adding up the right way because the road ahead is not getting any easier. Saturday will be a trip to Knoxville against Tennessee, a revenge game for the Vols after a Texas A&M win earlier in the season. Then, South Carolina will be coming to town hoping to keep pace in the SEC regular season title race.

Finding a way to avoid a five-game losing streak could be the difference between playing in the NCAA Tournament or not.