Tuesday, January 2
College Station
8 p.m.
Texas A&M
11-3, 0-2SEC
66
vs
83
Florida
10-4, 2-0SEC
1
2
F
Florida
46
37
83
Texas A&M
30
36
66
Photo by: Spencer Gnauck/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 11 Men Drop SEC Home Opener to Florida
Jan 02, 2018 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- Egor Koulechov scored 19 points and Keith Stone added 18 as Florida built a big lead early and cruised to an 83-66 victory over No. 11 Texas A&M on Tuesday night.
The short-handed Aggies, who were playing without three starters, dropped their second straight game after starting the season 11-1 and rising to No. 5 in the poll. This was A&M's second straight lopsided loss after a 79-57 defeat at Alabama on Saturday.
The Gators (10-4, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) made 17 3-pointers, led by five from Koulechov and four from Stone to win their fourth straight game.
Texas A&M (11-3, 0-2) was led by Jay Jay Chandler's 17 points on a night the team was missing Admon Gilder, who missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury, and Duane Wilson who also sat out with a knee injury. Leading scorer D.J. Hogg, who is averaging 14.6 points a game, served the last game of a three-game suspension for an undisclosed team rules violation.
The Gators led by 16 at halftime thanks to a hot-shooting first half where they made 10 of 16 3-pointers and had extended the lead to 55-37 with about 15 minutes left.
The Aggies scored the next eight points with 3-pointers from Chris Collins and Tonny Trocha-Morelos to get within 10. But Florida used a 10-0 spurt, with the first eight points from Koulechov, to make it 65-45 with about 11 minutes left and the Aggies didn't threaten again.
The Aggies led by one early before Florida used a 22-6 run, powered by four 3-pointers, to take a 30-15 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Texas A&M got going after that and outscored the Gators 12-6 over the next 4 minutes to get within 36-27.
Florida scored the next eight points, with 3s from Chris Chiozza and Koulechov, to push the lead to 44-27 and the Gators led 46-30 at halftime.
"Got beat by a very good Florida team. We gave up 17 threes. Egor Koulechov and Keith Stone were tough matchups for us. You have to give Florida credit. You have to have your best foot forward to beat a good Florida like that especially when they shoot the ball as well as they did."
On Florida's shooting…
"We had a hard time guarding them. (Chris) Chiozza is a special player. They played like a veteran team. Part of it was that they had some open threes that we had a hard time guarding. The other part is that they shot the ball extremely well. Stone and Koulechov had nine threes."
On missing key players...
"It is a factor. That's no question. You can't not have your best foot forward in the SEC and give yourself a chance to win night in and night out. The injuries you can't control. Obviously, losing Duane Wilson and Admon Gilder hurts us against a team that is so good on the perimeter in their guard play. All of those things add up, and you have to put our best foot forward."
On younger players gaining experience…
"It is going to help us in the long run if we learn from our mistakes. That's the bottom line. I thought the young guys got some experience. Jay Jay Chandler took advantage of it. Savion Flagg is giving us some good minutes. JJ Caldwell got to play almost the whole game and did some positive things. Robert (Williams) and Tyler (Davis) were a factor, and they are going to be a factor against everybody we play."
On moving forward…
"This can make us better, and I believe we are going to be better. People better beat us now while we have guys injured and when we made the mistakes we did because I really believe that we are going to get this team right. We have a good and talented group. We are going to learn from it and that is the approach we are taking. Obviously, attitude matters, so I am going to be as positive as possible. We have good players."
"We are just going to keep working, keep pushing forward, and keep looking ahead because the season is long. We have plenty of games left. We are just going to keep working, keep listening to the game plan and keep listening to coach to just keep pushing."
On playing key minutes…
"I just have to keep working. Coach trusts me to go out there and follow the game plan and execute. I need to play good defense and just be a good energy guy and go out there and play my game. It brings confidence to me. I am just going to keep flowing with it."
"Sometimes when you make a few early it snowballs for you. It certainly has happened to this year's Gator team. We've got a few very good shooters. Sometimes when you get off to a good start you can carry that momentum for 40 minutes. I don't think we took a selfish shot all night. I hope that moving forward we continue to see progress in that area. This just happened to be one of those nights that I thought the ball movement early for the most part led to more and more ball movement moving forward. It was the highest I've seen our confidence offensively in a while. It was nice to see our shots falling. It was nice to see the ball falling like it did."
On Texas A&M…
"They are obviously a very difficult team to play against with their incredible length and size. We packed it in more so than we normally do with a lack of proven shooters. I told our guys before the game that their freshmen were going to have a renewed level of confidence knowing that they are going to get extended minutes. They are very talented and highly-rated guys coming out of high school. I thought Jay Jay Chandler really stepped up and played his butt off. Savion Flagg hit a couple threes. They made us pay for our game plan a few of times with us daring them to shoot it. Those guys will continue to get better. We knew the emphasis would be to pound it inside. A&M is really good obviously when they are at full strength. They are probably as good as anybody in the country."
The short-handed Aggies, who were playing without three starters, dropped their second straight game after starting the season 11-1 and rising to No. 5 in the poll. This was A&M's second straight lopsided loss after a 79-57 defeat at Alabama on Saturday.
The Gators (10-4, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) made 17 3-pointers, led by five from Koulechov and four from Stone to win their fourth straight game.
Texas A&M (11-3, 0-2) was led by Jay Jay Chandler's 17 points on a night the team was missing Admon Gilder, who missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury, and Duane Wilson who also sat out with a knee injury. Leading scorer D.J. Hogg, who is averaging 14.6 points a game, served the last game of a three-game suspension for an undisclosed team rules violation.
The Gators led by 16 at halftime thanks to a hot-shooting first half where they made 10 of 16 3-pointers and had extended the lead to 55-37 with about 15 minutes left.
The Aggies scored the next eight points with 3-pointers from Chris Collins and Tonny Trocha-Morelos to get within 10. But Florida used a 10-0 spurt, with the first eight points from Koulechov, to make it 65-45 with about 11 minutes left and the Aggies didn't threaten again.
The Aggies led by one early before Florida used a 22-6 run, powered by four 3-pointers, to take a 30-15 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Texas A&M got going after that and outscored the Gators 12-6 over the next 4 minutes to get within 36-27.
Florida scored the next eight points, with 3s from Chris Chiozza and Koulechov, to push the lead to 44-27 and the Gators led 46-30 at halftime.
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M dropped its second consecutive contest Tuesday night, falling to Florida 83-66 at Reed Arena … A&M's record this season now stands at 11-3 with an 0-2 mark in SEC play.
- The loss snapped a seven-game home winning streak for the Aggies.
- Florida leads the all-time series between the schools 7-4.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M, which entered the game allowing opponents to shoot just 27 percent from beyond the 3-point line, allowed a season-high 17 3-point baskets to the Gators (Buffalo also made 17 3-pointers on 12/21) … UF made 17-of-28 shots form long distance.
- Florida's 51.6 field goal percentage and 60.7 3-point field goal percentage were both season-highs for an Aggie opponent.
- The Gators did not make a free throw in the contest, going 0-for-1 to become the first Aggie opponent since Texas Tech did not convert from the charity stripe on Feb. 14, 2012.
- Florida took a 46-30 lead into the intermission after a hot shooting first half that saw the Gators make 10-of-16 3-point attempts.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of JJ Caldwell, Jay Jay Chandler, Savion Flagg, Robert Williams and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (0-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Sophomore Robert Williams posted his third double-double of the season and 14th of his career with a 12-point and 11-rebound outing … the Oil City, La., native registered four blocks to extend his program-record block streak.
- Freshman Jay Jay Chandler led the Aggies in scoring with a career-high 17 points … Chandler hit 7-of-11 from the floor including 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
- RS Freshman JJ Caldwell registered a career high nine points while leading the Aggies with seven assists during his second career start.
- Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy fell to 126-88 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 337-267 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies return to the hardwood inside Reed Arena to host LSU on Saturday ... Tip-off is slated for 1:15 p.m. with television coverage on SEC Network.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…"Got beat by a very good Florida team. We gave up 17 threes. Egor Koulechov and Keith Stone were tough matchups for us. You have to give Florida credit. You have to have your best foot forward to beat a good Florida like that especially when they shoot the ball as well as they did."
On Florida's shooting…
"We had a hard time guarding them. (Chris) Chiozza is a special player. They played like a veteran team. Part of it was that they had some open threes that we had a hard time guarding. The other part is that they shot the ball extremely well. Stone and Koulechov had nine threes."
On missing key players...
"It is a factor. That's no question. You can't not have your best foot forward in the SEC and give yourself a chance to win night in and night out. The injuries you can't control. Obviously, losing Duane Wilson and Admon Gilder hurts us against a team that is so good on the perimeter in their guard play. All of those things add up, and you have to put our best foot forward."
On younger players gaining experience…
"It is going to help us in the long run if we learn from our mistakes. That's the bottom line. I thought the young guys got some experience. Jay Jay Chandler took advantage of it. Savion Flagg is giving us some good minutes. JJ Caldwell got to play almost the whole game and did some positive things. Robert (Williams) and Tyler (Davis) were a factor, and they are going to be a factor against everybody we play."
On moving forward…
"This can make us better, and I believe we are going to be better. People better beat us now while we have guys injured and when we made the mistakes we did because I really believe that we are going to get this team right. We have a good and talented group. We are going to learn from it and that is the approach we are taking. Obviously, attitude matters, so I am going to be as positive as possible. We have good players."
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN JAY JAY CHANDLER
On moving forward…"We are just going to keep working, keep pushing forward, and keep looking ahead because the season is long. We have plenty of games left. We are just going to keep working, keep listening to the game plan and keep listening to coach to just keep pushing."
On playing key minutes…
"I just have to keep working. Coach trusts me to go out there and follow the game plan and execute. I need to play good defense and just be a good energy guy and go out there and play my game. It brings confidence to me. I am just going to keep flowing with it."
FLORIDA HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE
On Florida's three-point shooting..."Sometimes when you make a few early it snowballs for you. It certainly has happened to this year's Gator team. We've got a few very good shooters. Sometimes when you get off to a good start you can carry that momentum for 40 minutes. I don't think we took a selfish shot all night. I hope that moving forward we continue to see progress in that area. This just happened to be one of those nights that I thought the ball movement early for the most part led to more and more ball movement moving forward. It was the highest I've seen our confidence offensively in a while. It was nice to see our shots falling. It was nice to see the ball falling like it did."
On Texas A&M…
"They are obviously a very difficult team to play against with their incredible length and size. We packed it in more so than we normally do with a lack of proven shooters. I told our guys before the game that their freshmen were going to have a renewed level of confidence knowing that they are going to get extended minutes. They are very talented and highly-rated guys coming out of high school. I thought Jay Jay Chandler really stepped up and played his butt off. Savion Flagg hit a couple threes. They made us pay for our game plan a few of times with us daring them to shoot it. Those guys will continue to get better. We knew the emphasis would be to pound it inside. A&M is really good obviously when they are at full strength. They are probably as good as anybody in the country."
Team Stats
UF
TAMU
FG%
.516
.429
3FG%
.607
.421
FT%
.000
.800
RB
29
39
TO
7
16
STL
8
1
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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