Aggies Look To Avenge Early Season Loss To LSU In Baton Rouge

The Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team looks for better results from the Jan. 6 decbacle at Reed Arena.

Life is about learning from past mistakes so that history doesn't repeat itself. 

Will that be the case for Texas A&M on the road in Baton Rouge? 

The Aggies return to the hardwood Saturday at 3 p.m. for a rematch with LSU, only this time in the belly of the beast. A&M (10-7, 1-3) is looking to avenge its early season 68-53 collapse against the Tigers (11-6, 3-1) that sent the roster on its axis and in a whirl to begin conference play. 

Losses can be recovered. Energy can't. In retropspect, the Aggies were sluggish in their first matchup with the Tigers back on Jan. 6. They looked out of rhythm — lethargic in a sense — as LSU pushed its lead to double-digits midway through the second half. 

Again, losing happens. Losing in uncharacteristic stirdes is hard to recover from. So far, A&M has rebounded with the energy, especially in last Saturday's upset win over then-No. 6 Kentucky. 

But energy will tell most of the tale Saturday at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. 

© Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

“We, for sure, need to be much better in regards to where we failed on Jan. 6,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “They played so much harder than we did. They beat us on the offensive glass. They beat us on the defensive glass. They shot more balls than we did." 

The Aggies shot 24.5 percent at home in Round 1. They made 5 of 29 shots from 3-point range and picked up 14 offensive rebounds compared to LSU's 16.  

For the Tigers, it was the Jordan Wright show. The senior scored a team-high 20 points and notched 10 boards with two blocks. Jalen Cook played the role of Robin with 13 points and five assists. 

A&M enters Saturday as one of the nation's better offensive rebounding teams. It does struggle with consistent shooting on the perimeter. The Aggies rank 340th nationally field goal percentage and 344th in 3-point shooting percentage.

Erractic plays happen, but for the Aggies, it's a common theme. It happened against Auburn and carried over late in the closing minutes of a heartbreaking 78-77 road loss to Arkansas Tuesday evening. 

"Our identity is playing hard all 40 minutes,” said sophomore Manny Obaseki said. “We struggled to do that for all 40 in multiple games. It’s shown, obviously."

Saturday's outing could come with conflict. Henry Coleman's status remains a mystery after missing Tuesday's contest with an undisclosed injury. He's currently third on the team in points per game (11.9) and minutes played (29.1). 

Ross Bjork's Tenure With Texas A&M Comes With Pros And Cons For The Long Haul

Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece "Boots" Radford, the leaders of A&M's locker room, are both active and coming off proming outings against the Hogs. Taylor scored 41 points while Radford finished with five rebounds. 

Andersson Garcia filled in for the injured Coleman and scored 10 while leading the Aggies with 12 boards. The trio will have to reach new levels if it hopes to slow down Cook and Wright. 

They can't do it alone, though. Obaseki understands the assignement at hand. 

“We’ve just got to stay in the moment," said Obaseki. "Continue to work your butt off every single day, every chance you have. Whenever you’re out on that floor lay everything out on the line for the person beside you.”