The Good
- Bryan Davis: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. After being invisible on the offensive end against Utah State, Davis showed up huge in this game. He simply made himself available inside then used his craftiness to get buckets down low. Did his usually damage on the boards and on defense, creating turnovers and providing endless energy.
- Rebounding: Cited by many as a key to victory, A&M controlled the boards 40-30, including a 12-3 edge on the offensive glass. A&M certainly got what it wanted from this aspect of the game, but Purdue was able to keep it close enough to stay in the game, and ultimately win it.
- First Half Defense: Held Purdue under 35% shooting in the first half, including keeping big man JaJuan Johnson scoreless in the first half. The defense in the second half wasn't necessarily bad in the second half, but only decent according to Texas A&M standards. The Aggies were able to force turnovers (12) and provide pressure for most of the possession, but simply did not get enough pressure on the shooters in the second half, as Purdue was able to raise their shooting percentage to 41% overall, and most of their three-pointers that they hit were uncontested.
- Effort: This has been good for Texas A&M all year, and is a credit to the guys on the team and the principles that Mark Turgeon and his staff have instilled in them.
The Bad
- Offense: Aside from Davis, little help came from the rest of the Aggies. Much credit should be given to Purdue, as they obviously have a very good defensive squad as well. But I think that we could have done better with the ball. Dash Harris was about all you could have asked given his condition, creating open looks for the post guys on his drives, but still had too many costly turnovers. Donald Sloan was a virtual non-factor, only scoring 11 points on 17 shots and taking two free throws. I think for a while he was hoping that things would go as they did against Utah State, where he was able to sit back and facilitate, letting other guys get their touches. But he needed to bring a little bit more this game, and wasn't able to. I thought coming in that David Loubeau was going to be able to have a monster game, as Purdue only has one real post player. But Purdue did an excellent job of coming with double- and triple-teams, and Loubeau wasn't able to find shooters on the perimeter. He had several very good looks that usually he does better with, but he wasn't able to find his rhythm. Don't let his 12 points on 50% shooting fool you. He got a couple open dunks thanks to Dash, but should have done a lot more damage. The bench and role players were not there tonight. Khris Middleton, after showing us what he'll be bringing the next few years against Utah State wasn't able to find a groove today, recording only a single trey. B.J. Holmes played decent in his 27 minutes, but didn't bring his usual scoring spark. Nathan Walkup was scoreless, missing two three-pointers, and Naji Hibbert provided two threes in the first half for his 6 points. Ray Turner also 3 points.
- Shooting: Continuing on the offense theme, the Aggies shot 35% from the field, including 29% from three. Again, much of this can be attributed to Purdue's defensive effort. However, the Ags were only 59% on their free throws, where there is no defensive pressure. The two areas that have plagued A&M this year, three-pointers and free throws, again proved to be the difference this game. Seven missed free throws and 12 missed threes made all the difference in this game.
The Ugly
- The Final Possessions: After being unable to get a shot to the basket, A&M allowed the game winning shot to defensive specialist Chris Kramer. A&M seemed surprised by Kramer's drive, as he was able to go through the lane unperturbed for an easy layup. My guess is that the Aggies, seeing the usually offensively-challenged Kramer dribble toward the wing, figured that he would hand the ball off to a teammate and go from there. But Kramer crossed over and went straight through the lane, with only Bryan Davis to provide token pressure to the shot. On the ensuing inbounds with about four seconds left, the Aggies were unable to get a very good look, only getting a well-covered three ball from Holmes. I am a big proponent of letting your team go ahead and run in that situation instead of taking a timeout, but your team must stay composed and organized in order to get a good look. Many of the Aggies were uninvolved and unsure of what was happening. The idea on that play is to catch the defense off guard, but Purdue was able to get pressure on Dash Harris bringing the ball up, and all that Dash could get was a pass to Holmes after dribbling right to him. Doing that drew even more pressure to B.J. for an already tough shot.
To use a sports cliche, if these two teams played 100 times, the series would probably split 50-50. These teams are very similar and very evenly matched, as evidenced by the two point result in overtime. There is no shame for Texas A&M losing to Purdue, who, until a leg injury to one of their best players (sound familiar?), were potentially looking at a number one seed in this tournament. All in all, the Aggies outperformed expectations, especially after the loss of Derrick Roland. Finishing second in arguably the nation's toughest conference and winning a game in the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year (and losing by two points or less for the fourth time out of those five years) is hardly a year to hang your head over. Thanks again to the senior class, who leave as Texas A&M's all-time winningest class, and we anxiously look forward to what next year will bring.
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