Texas A&M basketball HC Bucky McMillan recognizes Tennessee’s ‘Power-I Football’ style after 2OT battle

The Texas A&M basketball program underwent a significant makeover, with head coach Bucky McMillan hired to replace Buzz Williams. The Aggies went from a physical, defense-oriented team to a much more offense-oriented team. That comes with a bit of a learning curve. That was most entertaining against Tennessee on Tuesday night, with a clash-of-styles game that went to double overtime before Tennessee won.

During the postgame press conference, McMillan said Tennessee’s physical play was the difference. He said that the Aggies are good at what they do, which is based around playing as fast as possible and shooting a lot of threes, while he compared the Volunteers’ style to ‘Power-I’ football.

McMillan said, “We’re good at what we do, and those [Tennessee] guys are good at what they do. We go pace, tempo, shoot a lot of threes. They play some Power-I football and go over you, and they box you in half-court.”

The double overtime loss was a punch in the gut for the Aggies. They hung right with Tennessee on the road before the Volunteers pulled away for a five-point win, 87-82. The Aggies also led at halftime, 34-30.

“We’re trending in the right direction versus a good team, and we’re gonna win those a lot more than we’re gonna lose them if we keep doing that,” McMillan said.

The Aggies loaded up in the transfer portal, highlighted by Pop Isaacs coming over from Creighton, but against the Volunteers, it was North Alabama transfer Jacari Lane. The senior from Huntsville, Alabama, had 20 crucial points when the Aggies desperately needed them. Another key was Ryland Griffen as a sharpshooter who transferred from both Alabama and Kansas.

Defensively, A&M’s production has also grown since the new teammates started getting more reps together. They went into a hostile arena and still forced Tennessee to shoot under 40 percent, which speaks to the culture the coaching staff is building under McMillan in his first season in College Station.

“You hold a team to under 40 percent from the field on their home floor, that’s a great sign your defense is coming a long way,” McMillan said.

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