Texas A&M (12-3) pulled off one of the crazier victories you’ll witness all season after defeating Auburn 90-88 on the road in the always tough Neville Arena. After facing a 16-point deficit early in the second half, head coach Bucky McMillan’s “Bucky Ball” scheme held, resulting in multiple turnovers, and a three-point shoot barrage that gave way to a 40-12 run, which began with an incredible 11-0 run in 28 seconds.
After losing star forward Mackenzie Mgbako for the year, McMillan’s strategy shifted to a small-ball lineup that sacrificed size to leverage his veteran guard rotation’s speed, agility, and shooting efficiency, a strategy that, like an issue early against the Tigers, paid off in the end. However, after taking an 88-80 lead with under a minute left, Auburn stormed back, getting within one point with just .01 seconds left.
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Inbounding the ball, Keyshawn Hall seemingly drained an unthinkable 3-point shot to win the game, and while the call of the floor was a made shot, the refs changed the call, agreeing that Hall’s fingertips were still on the ball, which will be debated for years to come. While we’re just two games into SEC play, Auburn is now 9-6, and 0-2 in the conference, while the Aggies look like one of the hotter teams entering the weekend.
After Texas A&M was declared the winner, Bucky McMillan, surrounded by Auburn fans shouting “refs you suck!” spoke to the SEC Network for a brief summary before he couldn’t hear any other questions due to the noise.
“These fans can get mad, but that game should have been over at the free throw line. Malfunction with the clock – that game was over. Our guys played with resilience.”
While McMillan was right that the game would have been over before Auburn’s 3-point attempt if senior guard Pop Isaacs would have made his free throws, the clock issue can be debated, while McMillan is sticking by his claim that the clock should have run out of Isaac’s second missed free throw that grazed the rim, but due to the review of his attempt, the refs allowed Auburn one more attempt.
I happen to agree with McMillan’s claim, but I also understand that the need to review Isaac’s free-throw attempt was valid, so the clock stopped.
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Texas A&M will return to Reed Area on Saturday and will host Oklahoma (11-3) at 2:30 p.m. CT, which will air on the SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan discusses clock ‘malfunction’ vs. Auburn
