Wofford @ Texas A&M preview
Reed Arena
For Texas A&M and Wofford, Monday's non-conference meeting in College Station, Texas, represents one last chance to iron out kinks before they go their separate ways to start conference play.
The Aggies (4-1) and Terriers (3-2) each enter off home victories on Tuesday night. Texas A&M stopped Southeastern Louisiana 69-52, while Wofford outscored Coastal Carolina 88-77 to get back into the win column after consecutive losses.
Texas A&M won its first three games, not always in impressive fashion, before absorbing a 73-55 beatdown from TCU. Aggies coach Buzz Williams wanted to see his team learn from that game, and was happy with what he saw against Southeastern Louisiana.
"There was evidence of steps forward. There is still plenty of room for growth," he said. "We turned it over less today, and some of those turnovers are because we've made it a priority to play more unselfish basketball.
"Guys were turning down shots when it was their turn to shoot, because they were over-the-top protective of 'we're going to be more unselfish.' Some of those good shots turned into average shots and turnovers."
Still, the Aggies got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Emanuel Miller, who converted 8 of 11 shots. Andre Gordon added 10 points as A&M hit 53.2 percent of its field goal attempts and held Southeastern Louisiana to 37 percent marksmanship.
Miller enters the game as the Aggies' leading scorer at 18.5 points, and also averages 9.8 rebounds. Texas A&M is averaging 72 points per game, but has also committed 18.4 turnovers per game.
Meanwhile, Wofford is fresh off its first Division I win of the year; its previous victories came against non-Division I opposition. In beating Coastal Carolina, the Terriers got 47 points from guards Storm Murphy and Morgan Safford.
Murphy scored 26 points, tying his career high, and Safford notched a career-best 21 in just his fifth college game.
"I thought you saw a really connected bunch tonight," said Wofford coach Jay McAuley of the Coastal Carolina game. "They just keep coming to the gym working, scouting guys, getting prepared and getting extra shots up."
Murphy is playing up to the expectations of being a preseason All-Southern Conference pick, averaging 19.8 points and shooting nearly 58 percent from the field while averaging more than two assists for every turnover.
--Field Level Media