No. 25 Texas A&M Holds On 68-63 Against No. 11 Tennessee for 6th Straight Conference Win

The Texas A&M Aggies entered Tuesday’s matchup against Tennessee with hopes of proving their legitimacy both in the SEC and among NCAA tournament teams.

After escaping with a 68-63 win against the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers at Reed Arena in College Station on Tuesday night, the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies extended their own record for the best start to SEC play to six games. 

They sit in second place at 13-2, earning their highest-ranked win of the season 68-63 over the Volunteers.

Early in the game, the Aggies (21-7, 13-2 SEC) struggled to contain Tennessee (20-8, 9-66 SEC) sophomore forward Jonas Aidoo, who quickly scored a couple of points to add to his paint presence on defense. 

Aidoo helped the Volunteers to an early lead, but was later disrupted on the scoring end, only tallying six points by the end of the night.

Aggies sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV had an answer in his best game of the season, tallying 25 points on the night to help Texas A&M past the No. 11 ranked Volunteers — also adding four steals and a season-best 16 free throws to his totals.

Near the end of the first frame, the Aggies were in a back-and-forth battle with the Volunteers, and all tied up at 31 by the halftime buzzer. 

Out of the break, however, Texas A&M did create a small lead, building off of junior forward Julius Marble, who finished with an almost-double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds.

As a team, Texas A&M proved why free throws have been a strong point for it all season, making double the amount of shots from the free throw line than Tennessee attempted all game — and shooting 80 percent while doing so.

Those free throws proved to be a difference-maker for the Aggies down the stretch.

All seven of their last points came off foul shots as the Volunteers attempted to chip away at their deficit.

With under three minutes to play, Vols guard Zakai Zeigler knocked down a pair of shots to keep Tennessee within reach, but it was Marble and Taylor who iced the game for the Aggies.

Texas A&M still sits in second place in the SEC — one game behind Alabama — and now has 13 conference wins to add to its resume, including the last six in a row, while Tennessee continues its slump, adding a fourth loss in its last five games.

The rowdy Reed Arena crowd once again proved its impact for the Aggies, giving former Aggies fans and alum a sense of satisfaction by beating veteran coach Rick Barnes — previously having led the Texas Longhorns for 17 seasons, amassing a 29-9 record against Texas A&M.

The win also helped the Aggies’ tournament resume, as they now add a third ranked win and second top-15 win, the last coming against No. 15 Auburn. 

Next for coach Buzz Williams’ team is a two-game road trip against Mississippi State and Ole Miss beginning on Saturday. Tipoff against Mississippi State will be at 2:30 p.m.

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