Matt McMahon previews the Tigers upcoming matchup with Texas A&M.
- Quick turnaround having just played them two weeks ago. Says they do an excellent job at offensive rebounding (No. 1 in nation) and getting to the FT line.
- Wants to see his team continue to build on their big win over Ole Miss.
- Says A&M's win over Kentucky was the "highest level of college basketball."
- Loves the way his backcourt has been playing. Felt their perimeter defense was great against Ole Miss and will need it again against A&M with Wade Taylor and Tyrece Radford.
- Said they need to get back to not turning the ball over. They were doing a great job, but have given it up 32 times over the last two games.
- Said there was a lot that stood out in the front courts effort. They were all over the place on defense and got some big rebounds.
- Thinks in the second half vs A&M, they finished plays at the rim and didn't give up the basketball. Wants to see a 40 minute offensive performance instead of a second half effort.
- Says at halftime they just try to identify a few areas that need to be corrected. Said they'll show about 5 video clips of things they want to emphasize for the second half.
- He doesn't have the answer for how you stop Wade Taylor. Said he's just so well rounded. He's going to get his shots up and he's going to get to the free throw line, so you have to just find ways to make it hard for him.
- Says the team is staying focused on what's ahead of them. They aren't letting the 3-1 start get to them, they just want to stack days and go 1-0 every game.
- Said they were intentional in the portal, getting guys that are veterans who have a lot of experience, but that may have hurt them early. None of them had played together and it took a bit to gel, but he gives all the credit to his players for turning it around. Still thinks they have a long way to go.
- Says they've given up too many free throws recently. Between the Auburn and Ole Miss games, they've given up over 60 FT's. Jokes and says they need to defend the FT better because they're making 92% of those. But thinks they need to be more disciplined on defense around the rim. They need to stop bailing them out and fouling them when they get in the paint.
- Carlos Stewart has been out with knee soreness but came back to practice yesterday. Daimion Collins is still rehabbing his shoulder and is day-to-day.
- Feels the team has learned to play better together offensively. They fixed their assist to turnover ratio and their spacing is much better, so they've been able to get the offense going.
