SEC Tournament Preview: Texas looks to bolster its resume and take the season series vs. Texas A&M

Texas defeated Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament and is set to face the 5th seeded Texas A&M Aggies in the second round of the SEC Tournament. The Aggies are a tough team to beat, with a game heavily reliant on rebounds, especially offensive rebounds. A&M is 22-9 overall on the season, and went 11-7 in SEC play. 

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The game will tip off around 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Here is a summary of their regular season:

Big Wins

Texas Tech – Early in the season, Texas A&M faced off against the Red Raiders and won 72-67. A&M shot 37.3% from the floor, compared to Tech’s 45.1%, but was able to hang on by grabbing nine more offensive rebounds than the Red Raiders, a common theme for the Aggies’ season. With Tech being second in the Big 12, the win has looked more and more impressive as the season has gone on.

Purdue – Immediately following their defeat of Texas Tech, the Aggies faced the Purdue Boilermakers. Even after losing many pieces of their team last year which made the championship game, Purdue is still a formidable opponent. The Aggies out rebounded the Boilermakers by 11, and had three players over 15 points—Pharrel Payne, Zhuric Phelps, and Wade Taylor IV. A&M was able to hold off Purdue’s late surge to win 70-66. 

Texas (first meeting) – To open conference play, the Horns and Aggies faced off in College Station, with Texas A&M winning 80-60. A&M had 10 more rebounds than the Horns, attempted 12 more free throws, and dominated the paint, out-scoring Texas 48-16 inside. From the floor, the Aggies shot 47.4% compared to Texas’ 34.6%. The Aggies made just 2 of 19 shots from 3, but it hardly mattered due to their interior dominance. 

Ole Miss – In their 6th conference game, A&M went into Oxford and overcame an 11 point deficit, taking the lead on Manny Obaseki’s three-pointer with 14 seconds left, and defeating the Rebels 63-62. The Aggies had 17 more rebounds than Ole Miss, and outscored the Rebels  26-18 in the paint.  

Missouri – About halfway through conference play, the Aggies and Missouri Tigers faced off in a top 15 matchup. Texas A&M won on another late go ahead three pointer, this time by Taylor IV with just 2 seconds remaining. The two teams had near identical stats, except A&M shot slightly better on the game, leading to the victory. 

Auburn – In the second to last game of the regular season, Texas A&M hosted the No. 1 Auburn Tigers, and won 83-72. They out-rebounded the Tigers by 16, and had 5 players in double figures. Phelps led their scoring with 19, and Taylor followed closely with 16. 

Tough Losses

UCF – In the season opener, the Aggies fell to a mediocre UCF team, 64-61. With just under eight minutes left, the Aggies held an 11 point lead, but UCF fought their way back into the game, taking the lead with 45 seconds remaining, and holding it for the rest of the game. The Aggies had eight more rebounds, and six more made shots than the Golden Knights, but gave up too many free throws. The loss shows that they are very beatable, but, with it being the first game of the season, you can’t take too much away from it. 

Alabama – Two games after their defeat of Texas, the Aggies fell to the Crimson Tide at home 94-88. Alabama was one of the few teams to grab more boards than A&M, collecting eight more, and also drained nine more threes than A&M in their victory. But, it is important to note that star player Taylor IV was out with injury for the Aggies. 

Texas (second meeting) – The first time these two teams faced off, the Aggies dominated the game. For the first half of the second game, it looked like more of the same, with A&M expanding their lead to 22 with just over 17 minutes left in the game. But a 24 point second half from Tre Johnson, and a marvelous shot by Tramon Mark with only a few seconds left allowed the Horns to complete the comeback. Incredibly, the Longhorns were able to win the game even while losing the rebound battle by 16, and giving up 12 more shots to the Aggies than they were able to take. But what won Texas the game was free throws. A&M could not make a free throw, shooting 3-8 on the night, while the Horns went 14-17. Those 11 extra points helped make up for the 12 less shots the Horns took and the four more three pointers the Aggies made. 

Tennessee – Late in the season, A&M stumbled, losing four straight games, including an eight point loss to Tennessee. Tennessee shot a scorching 48.1% from 3, with Chaz Lanier knocking down eight of them, while Texas A&M went 5-30 from three as a team. The Aggies’ six additional offensive rebounds was all that kept them close, with a team as hot as the Volunteers were. 

Florida – The final game of the Aggies’ four game skid was a 19 point loss at Florida. The Gators dominated nearly every aspect of the game, shooting better overall, from three, and from the charity stripe, collecting more rebounds than the Aggies, recording 18 more assists than the Aggies, and having 4 less total turnovers. 

Statistical Profile 

Kenpom: Texas A&M ranks 17th in Kenpom, with the 7th best adjusted defensive rating in the nation, and the 43rd best adjusted offensive rating. 

Season Stats: 73.8 ppg, 40.8 rpg (including 16.1 offensive rebounds per game), 12 apg, 7.6 spg, 4.0 bpg, 12.3 TO. 

Shooting Percentages: 41.9% FG, 69.6% FT, 30.7% 3PT. 

Impact Players

Wade Taylor IV – Taylor is the leading scorer for the Aggies, averaging 15.2 points per game, and adding 4.3 assists. He shoots 33.2% from behind the arc, the second highest on the team, and has a very deep range. His biggest weakness is his size, standing at 6-foot-0, 180lbs, but makes up for it with strong shot creation and aggressive defense. Taylor has dealt with some injuries throughout the season, missing three games early in SEC play, but has been closer and closer to full strength lately. He scored 13 in the win against Texas and 15 in the loss. 

Zhuric Phelps – Having transferred from SMU, Phelps has played extremely well for the Aggies in his first season in College Station. Phelps is A&M’s second leading scorer, averaging 14.3 ppg and 5 rpg. He had 18 points in the first game against Texas and 7 in the second. 

Pharrel Payne – Payne, a 6-foot-9 forward, is a vital part of the interior attack for the Aggies. He averages 9.6 ppg, and is the 3rd leading scorer for A&M. He also contributes five rebounds per outing for the Aggies. Payne played very well in the first game between Texas and Texas A&M, scoring 15 points, and making it to the free throw line nine times. But the Horns were able to limit him to just seven points in the second game, something they will need to replicate in the SEC Tournament.

Andersson Garcia – At 6-foot-7, Garcia leads the Aggies in rebounds, with 6.1 a game, and is an especially great offensive rebounder. Garcia doesn’t normally score a bunch, averaging 5.7 ppg on the season, but has been playing well as of late, scoring 9.3 ppg over the last 7 games. 

Overall, the Aggies are a very good team, with the most recent bracket predictions having them as a No. 3 seed. They rebound extremely well, especially on the offensive glass, and can dominate inside the paint. But, sometimes they struggle to shoot the ball, giving opponents opportunities to beat them, even while being out rebounded. 

For Texas to win, the Longhorns will need players like Kadin Shedrick, Jayson Kent, Ze’Rik Onyema, and Chendall Weaver—who is finally back—to step up defensively and on the glass. The entire team will also need to build off the offensive momentum gained in the Vanderbilt game. This won’t be an easy matchup by any means, but it is a must-win if Texas has any remaining hope of making the NCAA Tournament.

2024-25 Texas Longhorns

Tre Johnson, 6-foot-6, 190 lbs, Fr., Link Academy (Mo.), 20.1 pts, 3.1 reb, 2.7 ast

Arthur Kaluma, 6-foot-7, 225 lbs, Sr., Kansas State, 12.6 pts, 7.8 reb, 1.9 ast

Jordan Pope, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs, Jr., Oregon State: 11.1 pts, 1.8 reb, 1.8 ast

Tramon Mark, 6-foot-5, 200 lbs, Gr., Arkansas: 10.3 pts, 3.7 reb, 1.4 ast

Kadin Shedrick, 6-foot-11, 231 lbs, Gr.: 8.4 pts, 6.1 reb, 0.6 ast

Chendall Weaver, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs, Jr.: 5.9 pts, 5.0 reb, 1.4 ast

Jayson Kent, 6-foot-8, 215 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 5.5 pts, 3.5 reb, 0.4 ast

Julian Larry, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 4.9 pts, 1.5 reb, 3.2 ast

Devon Pryor, 6-foot-7, 185 lbs, So.: 3.4 pts, 2.1 reb, 0.5 ast

Ze’Rik Onyema, 6-foot-9, 235 lbs, Sr.: 3.3 pts, 2.5 reb, 0.4 ast

Jamie Vinson, 6-foot-11, 225 lbs, Fr., Oak Hill Academy (Va.): 2.2 pts, 1.1 rebs, 0.1 ast

Nic Codie, 6-foot-8, 200 lbs, Fr., Dallas (Texas) Newman Smith: 1.7 pts, 0.9 reb, 0.1 ast

Cole Bott, 6-foot-6, 195 lbs, Gr. (walk-on): 0.7 pts, 0.3 rebs, 0.5 ast

Preston Clark, 6-foot-6, 220 lbs, R-So. (walk-on): 0.3 pts, 1.5 rebs, 0.3 ast

Malik Presley, 6-foot-6, 200 lbs, So., Vanderbilt

Anthon McDermott, 6-foot-5, 185 lbs, Fr., Hallsville (Texas) (walk-on)

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Previous Game Starters for Texas A&M

G Wade Taylor IV: 15.2 pts, 3.0 reb, 4.3 ast

G Andersson Garcia: 5.7 pts, 6.1 reb, 1.6 ast

F Henry Coleman: 7.7 pts, 5.4 reb, 0.5 ast

G Hayden Hefner: 4.7 pts, 1.6 reb, 0.6 ast

G Manny Obaseki: 6.1 pts, 1.6 reb, 1.2 ast