Aggies Coach, Players Share Recipe To Beat Arkansas

Fouling and free throw attempts huge emphasis as Texas A&M and Arkansas collide Tuesday evening

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - There isn't a single program Arkansas has beaten more than Texas A&M dating back to the old Southwest Conference days. The Razorbacks hold a 107-61 edge in the all-time series, but have fallen behind 38-40 in games played at College Station. Since joining the SEC in 2012, the Aggies have won 7-of-9 meetings at Reed Arena.  

For Buzz Williams and his team sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble, a home loss to Arkansas could unravel a season that has seen the Aggies win six Quad 1 match-ups. Luckily for Texas A&M, Arkansas sends opponents to the charity stripe a lot at 22 free throw attempts per game.

A staple under Musselman, his teams play a physical brand of ball and find themselves shooting 25 free throws per game, which ranks ninth in the nation. One certainty is SEC officials choke on their whistles quite often, which can result in a free throw contest tonight on ESPN tonight, and Williams wants to avoid that.

"I would say that whether it's [El Ellis], [Khalif Battle], [Tramon Mark] and [Davonte Davis], all the different varieties of ball guards they have are all good at getting downhill," Williams said. "We have to keep them out of the paint and we have to defend without fouling."

In Bud Walton Arena last month, Arkansas was able to steal a victory from the Aggies, 78-77, with a last second shot from Tramon Mark. Both teams combined for 73 free throw attempts with Mark knocking down 17-of-22 attempts while the Aggies' Wade Taylor made 10-of-13.

Both teams fouled a lot in the first match-up combining for 50 fouls. The Aggies have placed an emphasis on not fouling solid free throw shooting teams like Arkansas. 

“Our first eight minutes were really bad when we played [at Arkansas],” guard Jace Carter said. “We fouled way too much down the stretch. We don’t want to lose at all, but especially not at Reed, and especially not in the situation we’re in right now.”

Since upsetting No. 6 Tennessee on Feb. 10, the Aggies have lost its past two games by one point to lowly Vanderbilt in Nashville and were carved up by Alabama 100-75 in Tuscaloosa. 

“It’s important for us to go get this one [against Arkansas],” Carter said. “Especially after having the week we had last week. We’re trying to move forward, and this is definitely a good place to start.”

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