No. 13 Texas A&M looks to take another step forward in its preparation for the impending Southeastern Conference campaign when it hosts Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon in College Station, Texas.The Aggies (10-2) have won six straight games, with five of those victories over power conference opponents and four of those on a neutral floor.Texas A&M enters Saturday’s game following a 77-45 victory over Houston Christian at home on Dec. 20. The Aggies rested leading scorer Wade Taylor IV (16 points per game) after he was injured against Purdue on Dec. 14. They got a game-high 19 points from Hayden Hefner, who made his fifth start.It was the first time in Taylor’s career he missed a game, which caused serious consternation for A&M coach Buzz Williams.”He’s never missed a practice,” Williams said of Taylor. “I didn’t like it at all. Very uncomfortable. We’re very reliant on his talent, for sure. His leadership is as good as I’ve been around in my career.”The Aggies, perhaps because of Taylor’s absence, had a slow start in their win over Houston Christian, carrying a 35-23 lead into halftime. A&M found its stride in the second half, shooting 54.8 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and grabbing 26 rebounds.”It speaks to our maturity to how we responded in the second half just coming out there strong, playing hard and playing together,” said Aggies guard Manny Obaseki, who finished with 13 points and a game-high four assists.Williams purposely stacked his team’s schedule with games against tough opposition. Texas A&M is one of seven D1 teams with at least five NET Quad 1 or Quad 2 victories on its NCAA Tournament resume.A huge measure of the Aggies’ success comes from their work on the offensive glass. A&M leads the nation in offensive rebounds, averaging 17.2 per game.
With SEC test ahead, No. 13 Texas A&M faces Abilene Christian
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