Game is at 2:00 CST. Big test. A&M is obviously a noteworthy name, but they're very beatable. 4-1 on the year. All 4 wins against mid/low-majors and the loss on the road to Duke by 19. They played Texas Southern at home a few days prior to our game against Texas Southern and won by 13.

Very difficult team to understand statistically. Have struggled scoring the ball at times despite shooting 43% from the field (37% from 3) and grabbing 15.6 offensive rebounds per game. Have to assume, then, that their low scoring is down to purposefully slowing down the pace and poor FT shooting (54%). They are a good defensive team. Holding teams to shooting splits of 34/23/66 and forcing nearly 20 TOs per game. But, despite their offensive rebounding proficiency, they can struggle to rebound the ball defensively (allowing 15.8 OREBs per game).

Final note: A&M's top scorer is a 6-4 freshman post who plays limited minutes but takes roughly 23 shots per/40. And many of those shots are wild or forced (92% of her shots are from inside the arc but she's shooting 39%). I wouldn't be shocked to see Samb get extended run in this game, both because she has good size and because she has 5 fouls to give (the post is only 10-26 from the FT line this year).

Also, goes without saying that we could really use Bokunewicz. Her presence opens up the rest of the court and makes us more effective driving and posting up.

I see one of the tallest teams we'll face all year long - they start 2 6-footers, a 6-3 and a 6-4 -- and then they have two more 6-3 girls on the bench. So yes, Samb and Hayes will need to log a lot of minutes. They also have a new head coach, so I think they're going through a transition. I would be very surprised if they finish in the upper half of the SEC. But it's still a super hard task to win out there.

I'm going to try to go to the game, and can report afterwards with my thoughts.

(11-26-2022 08:25 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Game is at 2:00 CST. Big test. A&M is obviously a noteworthy name, but they're very beatable. 4-1 on the year. All 4 wins against mid/low-majors and the loss on the road to Duke by 19. They played Texas Southern at home a few days prior to our game against Texas Southern and won by 13.

Very difficult team to understand statistically. Have struggled scoring the ball at times despite shooting 43% from the field (37% from 3) and grabbing 15.6 offensive rebounds per game. Have to assume, then, that their low scoring is down to purposefully slowing down the pace and poor FT shooting (54%). They are a good defensive team. Holding teams to shooting splits of 34/23/66 and forcing nearly 20 TOs per game. But, despite their offensive rebounding proficiency, they can struggle to rebound the ball defensively (allowing 15.8 OREBs per game).

Final note: A&M's top scorer is a 6-4 freshman post who plays limited minutes but takes roughly 23 shots per/40. And many of those shots are wild or forced (92% of her shots are from inside the arc but she's shooting 39%). I wouldn't be shocked to see Samb get extended run in this game, both because she has good size and because she has 5 fouls to give (the post is only 10-26 from the FT line this year).

Also, goes without saying that we could really use Bokunewicz. Her presence opens up the rest of the court and makes us more effective driving and posting up.

Hopefully the Aggies will have a football hangover after beating LSU Saturday night. Ags up 38-17 with a half quarter to play.

Starting 5 is the same except Bellamy starts for Austin (?). Bokunewicz still in street clothes.

4-2 Rice early. Already two TOs, both sloppy, which is exactly what we need to be avoiding.

Really positive early minutes from Bellamy. Standing up well to A&M's big bodies and making good decisions.

Might have jinxed her. Awesome defensive play followed by a questionable transition drive.

10-6 Rice at the U5. But big small moment at about 5 minutes. Rice up 10-4, with the ball, and Crosthwaite drops a very easy pass which leads to an A&M bucket. If we're going to beat A&M, or any good team, it's those small mistakes that we need to get rid of. Still, good start. Crosthwaite hit her first 3. Jackson playing with confidence. Don't look overmatched by A&M's size.

Also had no clue that Mulkey was working for A&M. Very cool for her.

Still 10-6 but two straight Rice TOs, both by Fisher. One on a silly backdoor pass that wasn't there, one on an unnecessary push jockeying for position.

Very much seeing the difference between A&M and our first five opponents in how they defend our sets. Much more disciplined, bigger, and stronger.

14-13 Rice, end of 1Q. Some good, some bad. Turnovers obviously the biggest negative. A&M has defended our offense pretty well, but we're helping them. Again, TOs due to good defensive actions are fine. It's the unforced ones that are going to really hurt us. Defensively, I think we've done well. A&M is big and physical and they're trying to isolate their bigs 1-on-1 with our bigs. They've won a couple times, but all of Bellamy, Fisher, and Austin have had good moments. Betting we see Hayes early in the 2nd. Austin struggling a bit on the offensive end, forcing it a bit. Understandable because, like I said in the preview, we're going to need to score 1v1 more in this game than others.

(11-27-2022 03:13 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  10-6 Rice at the U5. But big small moment at about 5 minutes. Rice up 10-4, with the ball, and Crosthwaite drops a very easy pass which leads to an A&M bucket. If we're going to beat A&M, or any good team, it's those small mistakes that we need to get rid of. Still, good start. Crosthwaite hit her first 3. Jackson playing with confidence. Don't look overmatched by A&M's size.

Also had no clue that Mulkey was working for A&M. Very cool for her.

I had looked at the bio on the new coach but not her assistants so was surprised at Nancy being an assistant too. I don’t think last year was a lot of fun at Washington.

19-13 Rice. Two really good sets out of the quarter break. One leads to an Austin 3, one a Gooden drive and layup.

21-19 Rice, U5. Austin has gotten multiple really good looks from 3 in this quarter. Made one, missed the others. We need her to make those because A&M's bigs are struggling defending the perimeter.

Barker (#2) for A&M will be really good when she learns to play more in control. Very clear that she has everything needed to be an all-conference player. Just plays way too wild.

25 all at the half.

25-25 at the half. Feels like a fair assessment of the game. Texas A&M better individually, Rice looking like a better team. 13 Texas A&M points off 10 Rice TOs. I'm being repetitive at this point, but we can (and maybe should) win this game if we take care of the ball. Austin is probably forcing it a bit, but I have less of a problem with that today than in other games because A&M blanketed us for a lot of that quarter. We're going to need people to make plays, simple as that. And we're also going to need to make 3s. The perimeter looks we've gotten have actually been mostly unguarded. Bellamy easily the player of the half for me. Looked very solid and assured on offense and has battled in the paint defensively. Great minutes from her.

Also, one other note, A&M has scored off of two BLOBs already. That might piss Edmonds off more than anything else she's seen.

Nightmare start to the 3Q and it's the usual suspects: bad turnovers. Fisher loses the ball unforced and then Jackson has her pocket picked at half court. 30-25 A&M.

Jackson with a turnover and fouls, giving up a 3 point play.

8-0 start for A&M.

Two bad TOs, two open Crosthwaite misses, a bad defensive play by Fisher...yikes.

35-29 A&M. Good job steadying the ship. Couple easy buckets and a good defensive possession.