WATCH: Dexter Dennis posterizes Colin Castleton with monster slam dunk
Texas A&M guard Dexter Dennis gave Aggies fans a reason to get out of their seats early in Wednesday’s contest against Florida. After coming away with a block on defense, Dennis wasted no time getting down the floor on the next possession, throwing down a huge slam dunk on Gators big man Colin Castleton.
The play put A&M up 4-0 early, getting the crowd at Reed Arena off their feet and energized. The momentum from the play seemed to carry over the rest of the half, as the Aggies hold a 23-12 lead at halftime.
A transfer from Wichita State, Dexter Dennis has been a key piece of the rotation for Texas A&M this season, starting 17 games. He is averaging 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds across 26.3 minutes per game.
Dennis finished the first half with four points, eight rebounds and a block on 2-of-6 shooting. The A&M defense was next-level in the opening half, holding Florida to just 2-of-26 shooting (7.7%) shooting and forcing six turnovers. Forward Julius Marble led the Aggies with 12 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Aggies have been one of the hottest teams in the country of late, currently on a six-game winning streak. They are also one of only two unbeaten teams in SEC play, sitting at 4-0 in their conference games.
Buzz Williams preview matchup for Texas A&M against Florida
Two weeks ago, Texas A&M defeated a Florida team that looked to be going through a year of potential growing pains under first-year head coach Todd Golden.
A lot has changed in 14 days.
The Gators have won three straight, including a victory over ex-coach Mike White and Georgia, as they have figured some things out.
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Aggies head coach Buzz Williams didn’t hold back when previewing his team’s second matchup with Florida set for Wednesday.
“They’re completely different,” Williams said. “They’re playing a lot faster, completely different personnel. They’re scoring 16 more points a game. They’re shooting five more free throws, five more assists. They’re shooting three more threes. They’re making three more threes. They were averaging 58 points when we played them. They’re averaging 74 now.”
Center Colin Castleton has been the focal point on both sides of the ball for the Gators — he’s scored in double figures in all three wins — but Florida has had other players step up as well.
“They’ve completely changed their personnel,” Williams said. “They had a kid (CJ Felder) leave their team. One of the kids that was a really good player against us (Trey Bonham) is playing significantly less. One of the kids that played three minutes against us (Riley Kugel) is now playing teen minutes. The complexion of their team has changed because of their personnel. Their pace’s changed. The priority that (Castleton) has on their team hasn’t changed but they haven’t lost since we played them, They’re playing playing really, really well. Beat Georgia in Mike White’s return, won at LSU and then beat Missouri on Saturday.”