No. 6 Tennessee dropped their second game in their last four contests in an 85-69 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night in College Station.
The Aggies erupted out of the gates to start the game, knocking down three three-pointers in their first four attempts before the first timeout. The Aggies hit eight total three-pointers in the first half, blowing past their SEC average of six per game.
While the Aggies did have an uncharacteristically good shooting night, Tennessee’s offense fell flat on the road. Dalton Knecht did put up 22 points thanks to some quick scoring in the final few minutes, but it was the team as a whole that struggled to get anything going consistently throughout the wire-to-wire loss. Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler was the only other Vol on Saturday night to eclipse the 10-point mark with 15 total points.
The Vols shot 37 percent from the floor and 28 percent from the perimeter on a night that saw the Aggies shoot 47 percent and 39 percent from the same two metrics, respectively.
Texas A&M guards Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece “Boots” Radford combined for 52 points as the Aggies’ guards used their physicality to get past Tennessee’s defenders in one-on-one play on the court. The Aggies also won the rebounding battle by eight boards against Tennessee, though the margin was bigger at different points throughout the game.
After the contest, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to give his reactions to the contest. Barnes spoke about Tennessee’s offensive struggles, handling Dalton Knecht’s minutes in foul trouble, slowing down A&M offensively, and more. Additionally, Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack also spoke with the media to give his thoughts on the game.
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Check out both interviews from Saturday night in College Station below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee G Jahmai Mashack
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