Texas A&M
23-11,9-9SEC
Arkansas
25-8,13-5SEC
Aggies Dominate Arkansas, Advance to SEC Championship
Mar 12, 2022 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Quenton Jackson scored 20 points and eighth-seeded Texas A&M took down a ranked opponent for the second straight day, stunning No. 15 Arkansas 82-64 on Saturday to reach the championship game of the SEC Tournament.
Jackson also had six assists, five rebounds and four steals to pace the Aggies (23-11), who have revived their NCAA Tournament hopes by winning eight of nine games since ending a month-long, eight-game losing streak in February.
Hassan Diarra, whose cutch 3-pointer in the closing seconds of overtime gave the Aggies an 83-80 victory in A&M's tournament opener, had 12 points. Tyrece Radford and Henry Coleman contributed 12 of 11 points, respectively, after playing key roles in a five-point upset of fourth-ranked Auburn in the quarterfinals.
NOT. DONE. YET.#GigEm pic.twitter.com/MXEkLkmZPg
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) March 12, 2022
Arkansas (25-8) split a pair of games with the Aggies during the regular season but was no match for them Saturday after falling behind by double digits in the first half.
Stanley Umude led the Razorbacks with 20 points. Au'Diese Toney added 18, but leading scorer JD Notae was limited to five points — nearly 14 below his average — on 2-of-8 shooting.
Texas A&M advanced to the title game for the second time since leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. The Aggies lost to Kentucky in overtime in the 2016 championship and will face the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers in Sunday's final.
The eighth-seeded Aggies opened a double-digit lead for the third straight day, leading 36-24 at halftime after squandering a 16-point lead during its victory over Florida and nearly letting a 20-point advantage slip away in a 67-62 upset of top-seeded Auburn on Friday.
This time, the Aggies didn't leave anything to chance.
Arkansas, the No. 4 seed after winning 14 of 16 games to end the regular season, used an 8-0 burst to trim an 11-point deficit to 47-44. But Texas A&M was hardly rattled, rebuilding the lead to 11 over the next three minutes and hiking it to 68-52 on Radford's three-point play with 6:30 to go.
Aggies coach Buzz Williams emptied his bench after leading by as many as 23 down the stretch.
Celebrate this one ??
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) March 12, 2022
Lock in for the next one ??#GigEm pic.twitter.com/G6B5ijpC5s
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 82, No. 15 Arkansas 64
Amalie Arena (Tampa, Fla.)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M led wire-to-wire in its 82-64 victory over fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship Game.
- The Aggies have won back-to-back games over ranked teams for the first time since winning at No. 6 Kansas and against No. 25 Texas on Feb. 3 and Feb. 5, 2007.
- A&M advanced to its second SEC Tournament Championship game, joining the 2016 squad. The Aggies will make their seventh conference tournament championship game appearance in program history (2-4).
TEAM NOTES
- The 18-point victory was the largest by Texas A&M over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 12 North Carolina, 86-65, in the NCAA Second Round on March 20, 2018.
- Through the first three games of the SEC Tournament, the Aggies have either led and been tied for 123:24 of 125 minutes of play.
- During Texas A&M's seven-game win streak, the Aggies are outscoring their opponents in the first half by 78 (270-192). Against the Razorbacks, A&M held a 36-24 advantage at the break.
- Texas A&M dominated the glass, outrebounding Arkansas, 38-25.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Henry Coleman III, Quenton Jackson, Manny Obaseki, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the seventh time this season (7-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Quenton Jackson stuffed the stat sheet as he led the team with a game-high 20 points and registered a career-high six assists, five rebounds and four steals. The Los Angeles native tallied his sixth game with 20-or-more points and has scored in double figures in the last 16 games.
- Hassan Diarra poured in 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Diarra has scored 10-or-more points twice in the SEC Tournament thus far and nine times this season.
- Hayden Hefner provided a spark off the bench as he scored nine points, all of which came in the second half, and added three rebounds and two assists.
- Aaron Cash added eight points off the bench and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor to go along with three rebounds.
- Tyrece Radford scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Boots has scored in double figures in the last eight games and 12 of the last 13.
- Henry Coleman III recorded his fifth-consecutive game with 10-or-more points and he scored 10 to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
