Something has to give when No. 5 Alabama squares off against No. 10 Texas A&M in a battle of contradicting styles on Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Both the Crimson Tide and the Aggies are 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, but the teams head into Saturday’s clash in decidedly different manners.
Alabama crushed South Carolina 88-68 on the road on Wednesday while Texas A&M, playing without leading scorer Wade Taylor IV, was forced to rally late to win at No. 17 Oklahoma 80-78, also on Wednesday.
Alabama roasted the Gamecocks after getting out to a slow start. Mark Sears led the way with 22 points for the Crimson Tide while Aden Holloway added 13 points and Clifford Omoruyi finished with 10. Alabama led by 17 points at the break and never allowed South Carolina closer than 14 in the second half.
“Our defense was significantly better for the whole 40 than it had been,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “We had been having bad starts, especially when we had leads. So we made a little bit of a change and the intensity picked up and we were able to kind of keep the lead. We did a pretty good job keeping South Carolina at bay for the most part.”
The Crimson Tide have captured seven straight games and have won their past four contests by an average of 24.5 points. Alabama excels at 3-point shooting and driving hard to the basket when teams try to defend the deep shot.
“We spread people out,” Oats said. “We’ve shot 55 (3-point shots) in a game this year so people are cognizant of the fact we like to shoot. You can spread them out a little bit. We’ve got strong, tough, physical drivers, guys that kind of get downhill, and that kind of opens the lanes.”
The Aggies found a way to beat Oklahoma without Taylor, who missed just the second game of his career with an undisclosed injury. Taylor was seen favoring his left thigh and icing the area in Texas A&M’s league-opening victory over Texas on Jan. 4.
Zhuric Phelps connected on the decisive 3-pointer with 19.6 seconds left to culminate a career-high 34-point showing in leading the Aggies to their ninth straight win. Phelps scored 28 of his points and hit all of his career-best six 3-pointers in the second half.
“Wade was out,” Phelps said. “We needed a guy to step up. My team just believed it in me, and we got a win.”
Solomon Washington scored 11 points and Pharrel Payne added 10 points for the Aggies as they clawed back from an 18-point second-half deficit.
“We’re very fortunate to sneak out of here with a win,” coach Buzz Williams said. “I do think the character of our guys and the relationships they have with one another (showed) … I thought that we just hung around. I don’t think they ever dropped their heads. They were very accountable to one another and to what we’re trying to do.”
Taylor’s status for Saturday’s game is to be determined.
The teams have played 25 times in their all-time series, with Alabama winning 14 of those contests, including a 100-75 win at home in their most recent meeting last season.
–Field Level Media
