Texas A&M vs Missouri Basketball Recap

It was a close call, but the Texas A&M Aggies entered Wednesday night needing a victory just a little more than the Missouri Tigers did.

It showed on the court.

Yes, it wasn't clear by any means that Coach Mark Turgeon's team from College Station, Tex., required a positive result more than Mike Anderson's kids from Columbia, Mo. When A&M ambled into Mizzou Arena for this bubble-licious Big 12 brawl, both teams needed to ring up a new number in the win column, but upon further review, it was the assemblage of Aggies that had a little more urgency riding on the outcome.

Missouri hardly lit up its non-conference schedule in November and December of 2009. The Tigers did beat decent teams from Old Dominion and Illinois, but they faltered against Richmond and Oral Roberts. That's not the stuff of great NCAA Tournament portfolios, to say the least. However, the Mizzou crew did take down highly-regarded Kansas State in Big 12 play, a supreme scalp that few other bubble ballclubs can boast about.

Texas A&M did beat Clemson and Minnesota out of conference, and the Aggies' losses - versus New Mexico on a neutral court and at Washington - are not what one would call "bad losses." In sum, the Aggies' non-conference portfolio exceeded anything Missouri had achieved, but because of the absence of a Kansas State-style win in Big 12 action, Missouri's resume - through February 2, 2010 - ultimately eclipsed A&M's by a razor-thin margin. Had the Aggies not blown a golden opportunity to take home a win at Texas on Jan. 16 (they lost in overtime), their resume certainly would have exceeded Missouri's compendium of conquests. As it was, though, the Tigers probably owned a small advantage heading into this February 3 throwdown.

Mindfully or not, the boys from A&M seemed to convey an extra degree of competitive desperation on Wednesday night, and as a result, one of the more impressive home-court winning streaks in Division I-A college basketball came to an end.

Missouri - now in its new building and no longer playing at the old Hearnes Center - had won 32 straight games dating back to February 26, 2008, against Oklahoma State. Spurred on by Anderson - the preacher of pressure defense who has become Nolan Richardson's most successful coaching disciple - Missouri teams have electrified on-campus crowds and generated an intense atmosphere at their new facility, and this surge of energy has consistently toppled opponents, including those from elite basketball schools such as Kansas, Texas and (in previous years) Oklahoma. A 32-game home-court winning streak in Conference USA is one thing; a 32-game winning binge for a Big 12 school is far more impressive.

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Texas A&M managed to stop it cold with a bold second-half comeback.

At the 12:45 mark of regulation time, Missouri owned a 55-46 lead, but down the stretch, it was all Aggies in Columbia. A&M responded to that nine-point deficit by holding the Tigers to a single point in the next nine minutes and 49 seconds. Yes, it wasn't until the 2:56 mark of regulation that Mizzou - once in the catbird seat - scored at least two points on another possession. By the time the spell was broken, the Aggies had already transformed the tenor of this tilt. They grabbed a 63-58 lead and preserved it over the course of the final three minutes. The A&M advantage grew to 69-60 with 1:39 left before Missouri chipped away, but the Tigers - who pulled within a point at 75-74 with 15 seconds left - could never get over the hump. Aggie guard B.J. Holmes calmly drained two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining to provide for the final margin, and when a tying trey by Mizzou's J.T. Tiller missed with seven seconds to go, the visitors bagged the win they so genuinely needed.

Now, the pressure on Missouri to perform over the next six weeks will become even more intense. If the Tigers learn from the Aggies and storm an enemy lair with confidence, they might be all right when Selection Sunday eventually rolls around.

By: Matt Zemek
Big 12 Fans Staff Writer