Playing on the road in the SEC is tough. It's even tougher when the home makes above their season average in 3-pointers and controls the boards.
That's the reality No. 6 Tennessee faced at Reed Arena in College Station late Saturday as Texas A&M built a double-digit first half lead and dominated the glass to hand the Vols a 85-69 loss.
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Tennessee (17-6, 7-3) shot just 37.1% from the field and 27.6% from three-point range as its top scorer in Dalton Knecht sat stretches in the second half because of foul trouble. He managed to finished with a team-high 22 points while Zakai Zeigler totaled 15.
The Vols were out-rebounded, 43-35.
Tyrece Radford led Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4) in scoring with 27 points and Wade Taylor IV scored 25, both headlining an Aggies offense that shot 46.7%.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Texas A&M opened the game with three 3-pointers in the first four minutes, including two from Taylor. A Zeigler steal on an inbound pass and a couple of early baskets from Aidoo pulled Tennessee within two at 11-8 with 15 minutes, 37 seconds to go in the first half.
Multiple Vols' turnovers, coupled with some missed scoring opportunities allowed the Aggies to add to their lead as Taylor laced his third three to open a 16-8 advantage before a Tobe Awaka and-1 answered Texas A&M's run.
Radford hooked up with Coleman for a dunk but Knecht provided a much-needed response with a 3-pointer that he was fouled on in the process. His ensuing free throw pull Tennessee within three at 18-15.
Though the Vols were able to keep pace for the most part, Texas A&M continued its hot shooting from deep as Manny Obaseki hit the team's fifth 3-pointer of the half to put the Aggies back in front by six at 21-15 with less than 12 minutes left in the period.
Texas A&M rattled off a 12-1 run as Tennessee went more than four minutes without a basket. Taylor's three with eight and a half minutes remaining swelled the Vols' deficit to double digits at 30-16.
Knecht ended the drought with a three, then added another but the Vols were unable to slow down the Aggies on the defensive end who upped their three-point shooting percentage to 66.7% at the seven minute, 38 second mark after a three from Jace Carter.
Texas A&M went the final three-plus minutes without a basket, but Tennessee was unable to take advantage, going through another cold stretch of their own to end the half down 42-28.
Solomon Washington opened the second half with a three and Taylor scored on a layup that he was also fouled on, leading to a free throw and 20-point Texas A&M lead at 48-28 with 15 minutes, 26 seconds to go.
Vescovi's 3-pointer nearly fives minutes into the half was Tennessee's first score of the period but a Radford layup on the other end, which he followed up with a three on the next offensive possession extended the Aggies' advantage to 53-31 as the clock ticked inside of 14 minutes.
Jahmai Mashack's first score was part of a stretch in which Tennessee tallied four of five field goals and his two free throws Vols under 20 with less than nine minutes remaining despite Knecht sitting several minutes on the bench with four fouls. After Texas A&M went back up 19, Tennessee started to show life offensively, going on a 6-0 scoring run to get within 12 after scores from Mashack and Zeigler.
Washington quelled the Vols' momentum with a three with just over six minutes left to put the Aggies up 69-54 but Zeigler drained a critical 3-pointer from deep to again trim the deficit to 12.
Knecht re-entered the game under the five minute mark and made an immediate impact with back-to-back 3-pointers but Tennessee was never able to get back within single digits as Texas A&M pulled away in the final three minutes.
STAT OF THE DAY
In what has become a concerning trend, Tennessee was out-rebounded for the second-straight game.
The Vols were able to overcome it against LSU, though it did help the Tigers nearly erase a large second half deficit before Tennessee pulled away to win by 20. It resulted in a different result vs. Texas A&M.
The Aggies entered the game as one of the top rebounding teams in college basketball, averaging more than 43 per game and looked every bit the part from start to finish, resulting in 15 second chance points.
Andersson Garcia led the way with 17 rebounds.
WHAT THEY SAID
UP NEXT
Tennessee continues its two-game road stand against Arkansas on Wednesday.
The Razorbacks (12-11, 3-7) have struggled in league play but have won two of their last three games, including a 78-75 win over Georgia at home Saturday.
The Vols beat Arkansas in the last meeting between both teams in Knoxville last season.
Tip-off at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
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