Gators set to face a disruptive Texas A&M defense
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- After a brutal loss in Oxford on Saturday to Ole Miss, the Gators (14-9, 6-4) are back on the road to face off with the Texas A&M Aggies.
Florida will be without Dontay Bassett, who has been out with a calf bruise, and could possibly be without starting point guard Andrew Nembhard as well.
Nembhard did not practice on Monday but was attempting to return to practice on Tuesday, according to Mike White. Forward Keyontae Johnson is confident that if he’s not ready to go, Ques Glover and Tre Mann will be ready to fill in.
“They stepped up the Auburn game when Andrew was sick, so I feel like the next man is always going to be ready,” he said.
The Aggies are sitting on a split season with an 11-11 (5-5 conf.) record and are coming off of their own tough road loss to South Carolina.
This is a team with an impressive defense - on average, the Aggies have only allowed 56.5 points per game this season.
“They’re terrific defensively,” said head coach Mike White. “We have to move the ball at A&M. They swarm the ball as well as anyone in our league, create havoc, defend the interior well, led by (Josh) Nebo.”
The senior Aggies forward leads the team in points (11.4), rebounds (6.6) and blocks (2.2). He’ll be the player Florida will have to look out for on Wednesday.
“Their center, Nebo, is really good at blocking shots, so our coaches are telling us to drive and attack him,” said Johnson. “Give him shot fakes and get him in foul trouble early. We have to give him a lot of pressure in the paint and that way KJ (Blackshear) can kick it out so we can shoot open shots.”
Gators forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. has a unique background with this Texas A&M team, as he played for head coach Buzz Williams during his time at Virginia Tech.
“I understand some of his tendencies, but he also understands mine,” he said. “He’s going to have a hard-playing group, just like we had up there. They’re playing above their talent. Playing aggressive and playing together. Really good defensive team. We have to key in on that and make sure we come to battle against those guys.”
Williams took over the program after Billy Kennedy was fired in 2019. He was an assistant at Texas A&M from 2004-2006 before coaching at Virginia Tech for six years and leading the team to three straight NCAA tournaments.
“Defensively, I think they are very different,” said White. “I think this A&M program, right now at least, extends more, pressures more. They are very athletic. They play really hard, Billy’s team did too of course, but I think their ability to turn you over and block shots on the interior, being more disruptive. I think that’s the biggest change from how these teams were playing from last year to this year.”
Williams has built the team defensively and created a tough matchup for this Gators team that struggles on the road.
“They’re holding teams to like 50 or 60 points a game,” said Blackshear. “They’re doing pretty well. They stay connected. It’s pretty unorthodox the way they play, and I think that gives some teams trouble.”