They added a scoreboard to Reed Arena…and a really good basketball team to go with it

Texas A&M has let a lot of teams hang with them for 30 to 35 minutes a game. But not many have managed to last all 40 minutes with the Aggies. Just ask Colorado, Kansas State, OU, and Oklahoma State. Or watch the game from Saturday night, where Texas A&M trailed almost the entire game against the vaunted Kansas Jayhawks, but took the lead on an Acie Law three to pull off the upset.

The same held true on Monday night in College Station, where the Aggies pulled away in the final minutes with a 100-82 victory over the Texas Longhorns. Rick Barnes’ young team fought back from an early fourteen-point deficit and found themselves tied with just over thirteen minutes left. But the experience and stifling defense of the Aggies showed in the end, as A&M put on a 24-9 run over the final 7:30 of the game.

For much of the game, Barnes and the Longhorns looked to draw fouls on the Aggies and get to the line. In the first half, the resulting free throws got Texas back into the ballgame. The Longhorns hit 20 of 21 attempts at the charity stripe, while the Aggies only converted five of eleven. The fouls caused Billy Gillispie to play mix-and-match with his bench, getting significant minutes (and fouls) from reserves Donald Sloan, Marlon Pompey, and Bryan Davis.

Gillispie adjusted defensively in the second half, sagging his troops back into a soft zone that dared the Horns to shoot over it. And they did, abandoning the gameplan of attacking the rim and drawing fouls. Texas did manage to grab a brief 58-57 lead at the 14-minute mark, but the change protected the Ags’ key players from more foul trouble and bought them valuable minutes on the floor.

In the end, the Texas defense was exposed on a night where they gave up 100 points for the first time in a regulation game during the nine-year Rick Barnes era. (The previous high was the 95 points put up by ‘Melo and Syracuse in the 2003 Final Four.) When the Horns were trying to make a comeback, they were allowing easy transition buckets and wide open shots in the paint. Granted, their shots weren’t falling on the offensive end either, but the complete lack of late-game defense made any hopes for a miracle foolish.

The lack of depth on the team really showed, and is likely a reason that the late-game defense is such a problem. Our guys are constantly gassed in the most important minutes of the game, and it was obvious that they were tired and overwhelmed as the game wore on. Dexter Pittman gave some key minutes inside, and Connor Atchley continued to exceed expectations. But three of our starters played 39 or 40 minutes, and have done so in most of the games. It’s killing the team late in games, and could really be a huge problem when tournament play rolls around and the team is expected to play multiple games in the span of only a few days.

The return of Matt Hill from a foot injury will definitely help things, but does not really alleviate the pressure and strain on the guards. It will be possible to go with a bigger lineup if Barnes is so inclined, allowing him to rotate in a pair of guards from the Abrams-Augustin-Mason troika. But honestly, without Augustin on the floor, the offense grinds to a halt. J.D. Lewis is not a point guard, and Abrams is made to play the 2-guard. I don’t think there’s an easy answer to the problem, or that there is necessarily an answer at all. It’s really more like a game of Jenga where the pieces will always eventually tumble; it’s just a matter of choosing the right moves to make it hold together as long as possible.

All of this is not to say that there weren’t positive things in Monday night’s game. Kevin Durant was again spectacular, logging a 28-and-15 game for his fourteenth double-double on the year, a new school record. He did force some shots when the team got behind late in the game, but that was the least of the team’s concerns at that point. Augustin also played extraordinarily well, as the attack-the-rim gameplan fit his style perfectly. D.J. got to the line thirteen times and hit twelve of his attempts, finishing the game with 23 points and nine assists.

The scary thought is that the season as a whole could mirror the game on Monday night. Texas started out rough, dropping a game to Michigan State, barely beating St. John’s, and getting destroyed by Gonzaga in the most lopsided ten-point game ever seen. The middle of the year showed promise, just like the valiant comeback by the Horns in College Station. But Texas has lost four of their last seven and has a brutal three-game stretch to finish the year. They will need to refocus, take at least three of the next four games, and find a way to address the depth problems that have plagued them all season long. The thought of a tired, sapped squad playing road games in Norman and Lawrence is not a welcome one.

A horrible Iowa State team comes to Austin on Saturday, and it provides a good opportunity for Texas to bounce back and get on track for the homestretch of the season. Later this week, I’ll take a closer look at our defensive woes by examining the last two games in depth, and will break down the remainder of the conference race. If time allows, I’ll try to explore the NCAA situation as it pertains to the Horns.

In the meantime, buy some tickets for the game with the Cyclones on Saturday and I’ll see you at the Drum.