Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan Breaks Silence After Shocking Loss to Missouri—Players Reveal Unexpected Truths

Alright, listen up — Texas A&M’s basketball squad has hit a rough patch that’s hard to ignore. After dropping consecutive games on the road to Alabama and then getting walloped at home by the reigning champs from Florida, the Aggies found themselves at a crossroads. Facing off against Missouri, a team clawing desperately for a crucial Quad 1 road victory to keep their NCAA dreams alive, Texas A&M needed to not just compete but reclaim some swagger. And for a hot minute, things looked promising — the Aggies, under first-year coach Bucky McMillan’s savvy guidance, came out firing, nailing an eye-popping eleven three-pointers in the first half, shooting an enviable 65% from the field. But Missouri’s imposing size and dominance on the boards quickly turned the tide, exposing the Aggies’ struggles inside and sending them into a scoring drought that spelled doom. Now, with their streak snapped and the pressure mounting heading into the final stretch of the season, Texas A&M must regroup and refocus as they prepare for their upcoming showdown with Vanderbilt. It’s a pivotal moment — one that reveals a lot about this team’s character and resilience. LEARN MORE.

Well, it’s official: Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC) is in a slump.

After back-to-back losses to Alabama on the road and Saturday’s blowout home loss to defending national champion Florida, Texas A&M looked to rebound against a tough Missouri team that was desperate for a Quad 1 road win to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive, while the Aggies looked to keep pace and, at least come out of the tough five games stretch with two wins.

After one of the Aggies’ worst offensive showings of the season against the Gators, first-year head coach Bucky McMillan’s veteran team shot out of the gate, hitting a record-setting eleven three-pointers in the first half, and shot 65% from the field in the process. However, Missouri’s size advantage was significant, resulting in an 18-9 rebounding advantage in the first half, including 11 offensive rebounds.

Like Florida, this was a bad matchup for Texas A&M’s smaller roster, as senior forward Rashaun Agee is listed as 6’7″, while most of McMillan’s lineups rely on speed, quickness, and shooting efficiency in an attempt to produce turnovers and have more shooters on the floor than the other team. Against similarly built rosters, Texas A&M has had the upper hand, but over the past two games, the shine has come off.

Leading 46-41 at the half, Texas A&M’s offense went cold, led by a seven-minute scoring drought, while the Aggies hit just four threes and made twelve shots in the second half. Even more startling, Missouri completely dominated in the paint, scoring 56 points, including the final lead-taking alley-oop that sealed the game after Rashaun Agee’s missed layup in the final seconds, falling 86-85.

One bright spot was the play of reserve forward Zach Clemence, who, after scoring a career-high 21 points against South Carolina, all from seven threes, the Kansas transfer led the Aggies with 20 points after finishing 8-10 from the field.

Losing their straight game, it’s fair to say that Texas A&M is slowly reaching desperation mode and needs to prevent a major decline in the NCAA Tournament standings with seven regular-season games left. Set to face Vanderbilt on the road on Saturday, here is everything Bucky McMillan and two players had to say after Wednesday’s loss.

Rashaun Agee on the final shot attempt

“That was the play that was drawn up, I just missed the layup.”

Zach Clemence on the team’s mindset after three straight losses

“We’re not going to quit. We have to make the next play in the next game. It happens to every team. We have to get right back for Vandy. We’ll be ready.”

Missouri coach Dennis Gates on Rashaun Agee’s importance to Texas A&M

“I’m proud of Rashaun Agee. I’m from Chicago, the same city as him. He’s a heck of a player. I’ve seen him since he was a freshman in high school. His leadership speaks volumes for this team. He’s their heartbeat. We had to slow him down.”

Bucky McMillan on Missouri’s size advantage, and needing to move on and focus on Vanderbilt

“Really tough loss. We knew it would be a tough game. We couldn’t stop them or combat their size. We tried things and still couldn’t stop them. They scored 56 points in the paint. It is what it is in this league. We have to move forward.”

McMillan on what needs to be fixed to get back on track in SEC play

“When we started trusting each other, we made another run. Offense wasn’t the problem tonight. We just couldn’t stop them. Even when we did play good defense, they still got an offensive rebound, they had 16. That was an issue.”

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan, players speak after loss to Missouri