The March to March Intensifies with Tipoff of Holiday Hoops

The Texas A&M basketball teams kicked off Holiday Hoops with a pair of performances that have Aggie fans looking forward to the march to March.

Both clubs showed strong signs of making their 2024 March more memorable than the 2023 version. The women’s team lifted the lid on the day with an 83-51 rout of Lamar and the men’s squad registered an 89-64 triumph over DePaul in the night cap.

Last season, the men’s squad finished second in the SEC regular season standings with a 15-3 mark and slugged their way to the conference tournament championship game to build a resume strong enough for a No. 4 or 5 seed. The NCAA Tournament selection committee had a difference of opinion and strapped the Aggies with a No. 7 seed, stating the Aggies needed a stronger non-conference gauntlet. An unexpected first-round exit against hot-shooting Penn State ensued.

Buzz Williams beefed up the November and December slate and the Aggies have risen to the challenge. The Maroon & White boasts a trio of Power 5 wins away from Reed Arena, including victories over Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa State.

“Our NET ranking is the highest it’s ever been,” Williams said. “These upcoming games are important for us so we can maintain that level heading into conference play.”

After being away from Aggieland for the better part of November, Ol’ Sarge’s charges are delighted to be at Reed Arena for almost the entire month.

“Being home allows us to get some extra reps in,” Jace Carter said. “We can put in some work and that instills confidence in everybody. It comes back to working every day, getting in the gym and getting better. That’s tough to do on the road.”

Wednesday’s action brought an impressive victory over DePaul. Though the Blue Demons have stumbled out of the gate with a pair of injured starters, they have a roster hardened in the Big East which rightfully cherishes its reputation of a bruising conference dating back to the days of Patrick Ewing and Otis Thorpe.

The Aggies dominated DePaul from whistle to whistle in the victory. The Maroon & White sank a season-best 14 3-point field goals and committed just four turnovers, including going the first 27 minutes without giving the ball up on a possession. They also had an outstanding rebounding effort, pulling down 15 offensive rebounds compared to the 18 defensive boards for the Blue Demons.

“I’m encouraged that all we went through in November the growth and maturity of our team in how we handled the last five days,” Williams said. “Guys were spent physically, guys were spent mentally because they’ve been taxed and guys were exhausted emotionally. The staff did an elite job getting them prepared and it’s a credit to the character of our players.” 

Preseason SEC Player of the Year Wade Taylor IV is off to an admirable start, posting 18.6 points and 4.4 assists. He was looking to improve on his shooting percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio, entering the DePaul bout with .389 and 1.17 marks in the categories, respectively. In Wednesday’s contest he hit 4-of-10 from the field with six assists and no turnovers.

Henry Coleman III has elevated his game as a senior, averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He has four double-doubles and is hitting an eye-popping 68.4% from the field. Against DePaul, he came up a possession arrow shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, adding three assists and two steals.

Even without the services of Tyrece “Boots” Radford, the Aggies had six players register double digits in the scoring column. Carter (14), Hayden Hefner (10), Bryce Lindsay (10) and Manny Obaseki (10) joined Coleman and Taylor in scoring 10-plus points while Andersson Garcia checked in with nine.

The Aggie women’s squad had a rough 2022-23 campaign with a rash of injuries limiting the team to seven healthy players for much of the season en route to a 9-20 record. That edition of A&M basketball played its best hoops in March with wins over Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to advance to SEC Tournament quarterfinal round, becoming the first ever No. 13 seed to advance to the quarterfinals of the conference tourney.

This year, the women’s team rolls much deeper in talent, as evidenced Wednesday with five players scoring in double figures for the second time in the last three games. The Maroon & White already boast an 8-1 record on the season and picked up three consecutive victories over Power 5 opponents to wrap up November.

Head coach Joni Taylor is looking forward to December as the Aggies regroup from the initial rush of the season.

“These December games are huge for us,” Taylor said. “We are constantly trying to take that next step and we have a lot opportunities to take the next step with all the games in front of us. So far, we’ve been in the rhythm of scout, scout, game, scout, scout, game, off day. In December we have some stretches where we can practice and work on things we need to work on. With all the scouting and prepping there can be slippage in some of the fundamental things. We have a chance to work on those.”

Early on, Janiah Barker is looking like an All-SEC player, leading the team in scoring average (13.4) and rebounds per game (9.0). The high-energy sophomore sent Wednesday’s crowd of 7,529 into a frenzy headed into halftime with a buzzer beating 3-point field goal.

A trio of Division I transfers join Barker in the attack. Endyia Rogers (Oregon) is averaging 11.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 per game. Aicha Coulibaly (Auburn) stuffs the stat sheet with 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Lauren Ware (Arizona), who logged her fifth double-double of the season against Lamar, sports averages of 10.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.

“That’s something Coach (Taylor) said when she was recruiting me,” Ware said. “’We’re not going to have someone that averages 20 points a game. Someone might have a good night and score 20 points, but then it might be 12 or 8 the next night.’ We’re going to have really balanced scoring every night. That’s what makes it so hard to play us – anybody can have a really good game any night. Everyone stays ready.”

With 24 blocks on the season, Ware is on pace to threaten the Aggies’ single-season record of 68 set by Karla Gilbert in 2013-14.

The Aggie women earned their sixth consecutive victory, but the players are handling it the way they are coached.

“One game at a time,” Maliyah Johnson said. “Just one game at a time. Practice, practice and then get out there and play hard.”

Texas A&M is allowing fans to mix holiday merriment with 11 combined games in December and the first week of January. The first games of the New Year are SEC home openers for both teams.

For the men’s squad, a December to remember continues with Sunday’s home contest against the Memphis Tigers. After a much-anticipated road test against the No. 2 Houston Cougars Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Toyota Center, Holiday Hoops continues at Reed Arena with games against Houston Christian (Dec. 22), Prairie View A&M (Dec. 30) and LSU (Jan. 6). 

The women’s team plays five of its next six games at Reed Arena starting with Sunday’s game against Robert Morris. The Aggies continue home action against Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 18), Prairie View A&M (Dec. 20), Texas A&M-Commerce (Dec. 31) and Auburn (Jan. 7).

The bevy of action features a pair of free events for fans, including the women’s contest against Prairie View A&M and the men’s game against Houston Christian. In addition to the two free Fan Appreciation Games, discounts for all the action are available at 12thMan.com/promotions.

This weekend also features a BOGO opportunity with those purchasing a ticket to Sunday’s men’s game having free access to Saturday’s women’s contest.

One of the Aggies’ biggest fans, Santa Claus is expected to make multiple appearances at Reed Arena, including the men’s game against Memphis and the women’s game versus Prairie View A&M.

While tickets to Holiday Hoops action makes for a great stocking stuffer, the Aggies hope their biggest gifts to the fans comes in March.