BYU - Texas A&M Preview

West- Round One
Brigham Young Cougars (8) Vs. Texas A&M Aggies (9)
Thursday, March 20 @ 7:25 pm
Betting Line From Bookmaker: Texas A&M -1.5

The Brigham Young Cougars (14- 2 MWC, 27- 7 overall) won 13 of their last 14 regular season contests. Along with sporting a fine offense, the Cougars have a nationally ranked top-ten defense both inside and out. They’re also one of the top-five teams in the nation when it comes to grabbing offensive rebounds.

Trent Plaisted (15.9 PPG, 8.1 RPG), a tough 6-foot-11 center/forward, leads the team in points and rebounds. Guard Lee Cummard (15.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.4 APG) is a fine outside player, who can quickly slash to the basket or hit threes at a 46% success rate. Guard Jonathan Tavernari (13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG) can score but also has fine defensive skills.

Inconsistency dogged the Texas A&M Aggies (8- 8 Big 12, 24- 10) for much of the second half of the season. After starting 15- 1, the Aggies put up two losing streaks and then lost five of their final seven games, finishing in the middle of the Big 12.

If you have to point to one problem for this team, it’s inconsistency in scoring. A lot was expected from senior forward/center Joseph Jones. But Jones put up the lowest numbers of his college career—10.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG. Off the boards, center DeAndre Jordan didn’t hit his stride until the end of the season. Guard Josh Carter (12.5 RPG) leads the Aggies in scoring. Guard Dominique Kirk (8.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.5 APG) is tops on the team in assists. He hits 42% of his threes.

Turnovers, poor free throw shooting and general lack of defense have hurt Texas A&M greatly. This team does not want to face BYU in Round One, but they must. This could simply be a blowout.

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