Sunday, March 21, 2010

Disappointment and a bright outlook on the future. Texas A&M basketball season ends.



Well, it's over. On a heartbreaking LAYUP, Texas A&M gets knocked out in OT against a crippled (on paper at least) Purdue team. I can't tell you how upset I am as an Aggie that we would lose on a LAYUP with time winding down. It seems to go against everything this team and coach stands for as far as defensive principles. Nonetheless, we find ourselves staring at a long flight home to College Station with a former QB driving middle with 4.3 seconds left to thank. I feel bad for Aggie Senior Bryan Davis (17 points, 15 rebounds) who was an absolute MAN in the middle; the Boilermakers had no answer for him from 10 feet in. He led the team today in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals! He got every shot he wanted, and on most plays got fouled whether they called it or not. Our guard play was also pretty good outside of a couple costly turnovers in the second half. Dash's wrist kept him from being offensively potent as the D knew he wasn't trying to take jumpers. I wonder why we weren't smarter with our timeouts (a bit of hindsight is 20/20, I know) though considering it would have been extremely helpful to stop the clock after the layup. Kudos also to Senior Donald Sloan for playing hard and changing his game to be a playmaker when he realized his shot wasn't falling in the tournament. I was REALLY looking forward to see A&M play Duke in Houston. It would have been a Maroon out at Reliant Stadium! Here is your game breakdown statistically, from ESPN.com, followed by a season recap schedule for the Aggies:

Today's game against the Purdue Boilermakers.

TEAM STATS SUMMARY
Points 61 63
Field Goals 23-65 (35.4%) 26-63 (41.3%)
Free Throws 10-17 (58.8%) 5-6 (83.3%)
3-pointers 5-17 (29.4%) 6-17 (35.3%)
Rebounds (Off)40 (12) 30 (3)
Assists 14 11
Steals 8 12
Blocks 3 6
Turnovers 14 12
Personal Fouls 13 18

TEXAS A&M AGGIES
STARTERSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
David Loubeau, F305-100-02-2270001312
Khris Middleton, F231-61-30-015200323
Bryan Davis, F318-170-01-17153322317
Dash Harris, G330-00-02-402410322
Donald Sloan, G394-172-51-2014103111
BENCHMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
B.J. Holmes, G272-90-53-312130017
Ray Turner, F151-10-01-502001003
Naji Hibbert, G132-22-20-003000106
Nathan Walkup, F140-30-20-013000110
TOTALSFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
23-655-1710-1712401483141361
35.4%29.4%58.8%
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
STARTERSMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
JaJuan Johnson, C325-150-01-2031230311
Chris Kramer, G316-101-24-4071302317
Keaton Grant, G332-71-40-016121115
Lewis Jackson, G271-50-10-014410312
E'Twaun Moore, G387-171-50-0061303315
BENCHMINFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
Kelsey Barlow, G160-10-00-001101220
D.J. Byrd, G194-52-20-0120001110
Ryne Smith, G131-21-20-001200023
John Hart, G30-10-10-000000000
Patrick Bade, F130-00-00-000011020
TOTALSFGM-A3PM-AFTM-AOREBREBASTSTLBLKTOPFPTS
26-636-175-633011126121863
41.3%35.3%83.3%

2010 Schedule/Results
DATEOPPONENTTIME/RESULT
11/13ANGW 88-69
11/16@ SMUW 80-68
11/20SAMW 68-49
11/26vs. CLEMW 69-60
11/27vs. WVUL 73-66
11/29vs. MINNW 66-65
12/02PVW 84-59
12/04AKRW 74-62
12/07UNTW 75-65
12/12vs. UNML 84-81
12/19CITW 71-50
12/22@ WASHL 73-64
1/02NWSTW 89-63
1/05UNDW 82-41
1/09NEBW 64-53
1/12@ KSUL 88-65
1/16@ TEXL 72-67 OT
DATEOPPONENTTIME/RESULT
1/19OKLAW 65-62
1/23COLOW 67-63
1/27@ OKSTL 76-69
1/30TTUW 85-70
2/03@ MIZZW 77-74
2/06BAYW 78-71
2/13@ TTUW 67-65
2/15KUL 59-54
2/20@ ISUW 60-56
2/24@ BAYL 70-66
2/27TEXW 74-58
3/03OKSTW 76-61
3/06@ OKLAW 69-54
3/11vs. NEBW 70-64
3/12vs. KUL 79-66
3/19vs. USUW 69-53
3/21vs. PURL 63-61 OT