They narrowly lost a close game to Alabama in round two of the SEC Tournament.
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The Orange (22-13) won for the second time in the tournament and advanced to face third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday by holding off the Horned Frogs with another impressive defensive effort.
Like so many Nor’easters that can cause havoc at home through the winter, you just know it’s coming and there’s little you can do about it. Providence knew they were up against it against Texas A&M with the Aggies’ size and strength inside Friday in Charlotte, NC.
Butler advances to play No. 2 Purdue in the second round on Sunday.
Texas A&M leads 28-27.
Junior guard Admon Gilder was the leading scorer for Texas A&M in a balanced attack for the Aggies.
Tyler Davis gave the Aggies 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Robert Williams chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds. And Billy Kennedy’s team has a future National Basketball Association player in Robert Williams, who is averaging 10.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 25.7 minutes per game. Despite a number of setbacks for the Aggies this season, including a handful of injuries to multiple players, Davis helped lead the team to 20 wins and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
This game could come down to Providence knocking down shots from the perimeter because it’s hard to see them being able to get anything going on the interior.
Kyle Allman has nine points and Khalil Ahmad has seven for Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans are just 8 of 25 from the field, and they have eight turnovers. The Aggies started the game by missing their first 10 shots.
“And to be here five times in a row … it’s rare”.
“We didn’t move”, said Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk, who felt her team passed up open shots worrying about A&M’s quickness. Odds for that matchup will be released at the BetDSI Sportsbook when it is set, but North Carolina is favored by 19.5 points and is expected to be Texas A&M’s opponent. “They got length rebounds”, Providence coach Ed Cooley said.
BOARD WORK: The game matches two of the nation’s best in rebounding margin. That needed to change in the second half and it did but only after a critical 10-0 A&M run flipped a 37-35 Friar lead to a 45-37 deficit.
Texas A&M pushed the pace with 8 points off of fast breaks versus an opposing 6 points off of fast breaks.
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Consider Kyron Cartwright on the short list for potential March Madness superstars. The Aggies shot 50 percent from the field and scored a decent 1.06 points per possession. Another performance like that from Manley could help give North Carolina the boost it needs in the post. “You need that this time of year”.
