COLLEGE STATION, Texas — RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
· Top-seeded Texas A&M defeated fifth-seeded Oregon, 75-60, in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament inside Reed Arena on Saturday.
· Texas A&M rises to 25-12 on the year. The Aggies’ 25 wins are the most in a season since the 2015-16 team won 28.
· The Maroon & White have been victorious in nine of their last 10 games.
· In the NIT, the Aggies own a 9-7 record and advance to the Quarterfinals of the tournament for the fourth time. A&M last reached the NIT Quarterfinals in the 2005 season.
· In NIT games played in Bryan-College Station, Texas A&M owns a 5-2 record all-time.
· Buzz Williams notched his 300th career victory, improving to 300-191 in his career.
· A&M and Oregon have split their two meetings in the all-time series.
TEAM NOTES
· A&M went on a 9-2 run punctuated by a Hassan Diarra transition 3-pointer to take an 18-10 lead at the 11:39 mark of the first half.
· The Aggies engaged in a 7-0 run starting at the 8:23 mark of the first period to extend their lead to 27-14.
· Yet another 9-2 run by the Maroon & White beginning at the 12:38 mark of the second half saw A&M pull ahead, 71-53, its largest lead of the game.
· Texas A&M shot 47% from the floor compared to Oregon’s 37% mark. When outshooting their opponents, the Aggies are now 20-2.
· On the boards, the Aggies outrebounded the Ducks by a 38-34 margin. Texas A&M is 15-2 in games when they win the rebound battle.
· A&M edged Oregon in the turnover battle, surrendering 10 and forcing 11. The Aggies recorded nine points off turnovers.
· The Maroon & White dominated the scoring battle down low, booking 42 points in the paint compared to Oregon’s 24. When outscoring its opponent in the paint, Texas A&M is now 19-4.
· Texas A&M utilized a starting lineup of Quenton Jackson, Wade Taylor IV, Henry Coleman III, Tyrece Radford and Manny Obaseki for the tenth time (9-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
· Quenton Jackson finished with a game-high 17 points, and has scored in double figures for the 29th time this season. He has logged 10-or-more points in 18 of his last 19 games.
· Jackson matched his season high in minutes played with 35. He last played 35 minutes in the SEC Championship Game against Tennessee on March 13.
· Henry Coleman III finished with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field with four made free throws. Coleman has logged double figures in seven of his last eight games.
· Tyrece Radford hauled in double-digit rebounds for the second game in a row and the fourth time this year. His 11 boards led all Aggies. Radford has recorded 25 rebounds in the NIT, averaging 12.5 per game.
· Radford matched his season high in assists with three. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native has finished with three assists in four games this season, last at Ole Miss on Feb. 26.
· Radford swiped away three steals for the third-straight game, matching his season high. The guard has finished with three steals in six games this season.
· Manny Obaseki finished the game with 11 points and seven boards. The Allen, Texas, native has scored in double figures three times in his collegiate career.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M men’s basketball continues its run in the National Invitation Tournament in the quarterfinal round against the winner of Saturday’s game featuring VCU and Wake Forest. Reed Arena will play host to the matchup on Wednesday with the time for the game to be announced at a later time.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Buzz Williams
Opening statement…
“I was a little concerned about our practice yesterday. Their spirit was fine, but it was just rough. They knew it wasn’t good, so I spent yesterday afternoon texting back and forth with groups of them, all of them, individually, collectively, and just said ‘guys we need to change what we do in shootaround tomorrow’. We gave away too many reps today to play against real players that have a very unique style of play. To their credit, they were really good this morning. Spirit was good, energy was back to semi-normal. Execution of what the coaches wanted them to do was spot on, and I thought from start to finish that our energy, spirit, our flow, our mojo, our plan relative to how they play, I thought our guys played at a really high level no matter who was in the game.”
On achieving his 300th career win…
“The chair that I sit in, I have to be responsible for. I am humbled, I am excited, I am thankful. I did not think that it was going to turn into this. But with this, I understand that’s another responsibility and how I handle the blessing.
Freshman guard Manny Obaseki
On how the Aggie offense made adjustments throughout the game…
“I think that just helps us get into a flow, just trying to find the right shot. You run it every time just to get Q a good look. You try to get him going because he is the engine to our team. I like that we made that adjustment just to help him because whenever he is going, we are going.”
On how it feels to play on A&M’s home floor this late in the year…
“I think that it’s a blessing. Being able to be back over here and play in front of these fans, especially after everything that we have been going through this past week. It means a lot to us. Just having their support, them coming to see us, our families, our friends just coming here to support us. Making sure that we show for them every time we come on the floor and play hard.”
Fifth-Year guard Quenton Jackson
On being a part of Buzz Williams’ 300th career win…
“Its special, not just for me but for everybody. He has done so much, and he has given so much to this game and it is great to see him rewarded.”
On the excitement level of the team right now…
“It’s through the roof but we can’t get too high, and we can’t get too low. We will celebrate it for a minute, but then we will lock back in because the work ain’t done.”
