Fans storming the court on opening night was not what Texas A&M wanted to see, considering the Aggies were the losing team being ushered off the court after a three-point loss in the season opener at UCF.
The Aggies, ranked No. 13 in the preseason Top 25, are sure to slide after they fell victim to an opening-night upset Monday.
Texas A&M will attempt to rebuild confidence Friday night when it opens its home schedule against Texas A&M Commerce at College Station. It’s the first of four consecutive home games for the Aggies.
The loss snapped a 23-game winning streak for Texas A&M in season openers.
The Aggies (0-1) let a five-point lead slip away against UCF over the final 2:13 of the game and failed to score during that stretch.
Texas A&M had a big advantage on the boards throughout the game, thanks to transfer Pharrel Payne, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and Solomon Washington, who had nine rebounds.
But A&M gave UCF far too many trips to the free throw line, which led to 22-of-31 shooting from the line.
Aggies coach Buzz Williams hopes his veteran team, which has eight seniors on its roster, can put the loss behind it and regroup starting Friday. One of them, senior guard Wade Taylor IV, was one of the bright spots against UCF with 13 points and seven assists.
“I do think when you’re dealing with guys who have been to multiple schools and multiple places, there’s some maturity that comes with that,” Williams said recently about his team’s experience, perhaps creating urgency to win this season. “There’s reps that come with that and game experience that comes with that, but there’s also bad habits potentially that come with that and you have to be careful that arrogance doesn’t come with that. It’s a delicate balance of being humble and using the wisdom from your journey to help you in that last mile so to say.”
Texas A&M Commerce (0-2) dropped an 89-67 decision at Iowa on Monday night before losing 91-83 at South Dakota on Wednesday night.
The Lions were competitive against the Hawkeyes on opening night for a little over a half, pulling to within five points. Iowa then outscored Commerce 33-9 to open up a 29-point lead with 3:42 left in the second half.
Bright spots for Texas A&M Commerce were Khaliq Abdul-Mateen, who had 12 points, and Scooter Williams Jr., who had 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The Lions were able to get several of their newer players experience in the past two games as eight players made their team debuts against Iowa and saw minutes against South Dakota.
Abdul-Mateen again led the way in Wednesday’s game with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists.
“Every minute matters early in the season. A bunch of guys get minutes and opportunities,” Texas A&M Commerce coach Jaret von Rosenberg said after the loss to Iowa. “There’s a lot of belief in that locker room and a lot of belief from me. That’s why I’m really frustrated with some of the things we did that we’ve been talking about for a while.”