Texas A&M will play in its first NCAA tournament of the Bucky McMillan era on Thursday evening, opening against the seventh-seeded St. Mary’s Gaels.
The two sides could not approach the game of basketball in a more different way. The Aggies play “Bucky Ball,” a high-tempo brand of basketball that prioritizes deep shooting, constant defensive pressure, and speed. The team boasts the sixth-fastest pace in the country and ranks 16th in kill shots (runs of 10+ points unanswered) with 29.
The Gaels, on the other hand, play a brand of basketball former Aggies HC Buzz Williams would approve of. They feature a frustratingly slow tempo, which is to their benefit given they are the 13th-tallest team in the country. Owing to their careful game plan and vertically gifted roster, St. Mary’s ranks 4th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage and 15th in offensive rebounds.
In a David vs. Goliath-esque match, the quick, short, perimeter-oriented Aggies will have to prove that heart prevails over height to beat the slow, tall, interior-centric Gaels.
In matchups with as extreme an ideological difference as this, one team will force the other to play at its preferred pace. For the Aggies to control the tempo of the game, they’ll have to dominate with the press.
The Gaels are 157th in the nation in ball security, with two sophomore guards leading their backcourt unit. The Aggies are 83rd in the country in forcing turnovers, largely due to their relentless ball pressure. Texas A&M will be in a position to influence the game through the turnover battle if it can force the St. Mary’s backcourt into “rookie mistakes” that prevent the ball from traveling past halfcourt.
Texas A&M star Rashaun Agee, standing a modest 6’7 for the center position, will have his work cut out for him against the Gaels, as he will be guarding 7’0+ players for the entirety of the game. Andrew McKeever and Harry Wessels, who split center minutes for St. Mary’s and both stand 7’1, boast absurd rebounding percentages of 23.0 (McKeever) and 17.8 (Wessels). McKeever led the WCC in both offensive and total rebounding percentage; his 20.3% OREB% is better than some teams’ clips.
This game will come down to whose style of play prevails. Will the Aggies force the Gaels into a high-tempo game hallmarked by textbook full-court press defense, or will they be stifled by their opponents’ dominant rebounding?
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M’s ‘Bucky Ball’ will be put to the test vs St. Mary’s
Reporting by Sam Allred, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
