
Texas A&M star guard Wade Taylor IV makes history in win over Oklahoma
Texas A&M (16-5, 5-3 SEC) got back in the winning column on Tuesday night after defeating Oklahoma 75-68 behind an elite showing at the free-throw line while out-rebounding the Sooners 47-19 in one of the more lopsided performances on the board.
The Aggies' shooting woes continued, but this wasn't a surprise, as junior forward Solomon Washington missed his first game of the year due to an ankle injury. This led to reserve forward Pharrel Payne making his way into the starting lineup and, unsurprisingly, recording a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double in just 17 minutes of play.
However, in just his third comeback since returning from his lower-body injury, star point guard Wade Taylor IV made Texas A&M history during the matchup. The senior's three steals and 12 points placed Taylor in elite standing, as he has over 1,835 points and 202 career steals in his four-year career.
Scoring-wise, Taylor is a mere 156 points away from breaking Texas A&M's career scoring record, and with 10 regular season games remaining, the star guard will need to average just over 15 points per game, which is more than doable.
Texas A&M will face South Carolina on the road on Feb. 4th at 7:30 p.m. CST. The game can be watched on the SEC Network.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

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New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Thunder struck with a midrange shooting slump at the wrong time in NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS — How do the Oklahoma City Thunder surprisingly find themselves down 2-1 to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals? I can give you two versions of the story, both of which are equally valid. On one hand, there is the sheer fact of a more energetic Indiana side repeatedly outhustling, outscrapping, outrunning and ultimately outlasting Oklahoma City in Game 3. Call it 'energy' or 'playing with force' or whatever euphemism you want to use, but the tape doesn't lie. Rewatching the game on Thursday, the Thunder looked like a team on the last game of a four-games-in-five-nights trip. They played with little pace, were beaten to nearly every loose ball and completely ran out of gas at the end. Advertisement Of particular note was that the Thunder's best player was guilty on many of these fronts. Perhaps it's not surprising that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was worn out by the end after a 42-minute stint where he was repeatedly attacked on defense while the Pacers picked him up full court on offense. What's a bit more shocking is how out of sorts the MVP looked even at the beginning. Eight seconds into the game, he picked up a frustration foul shoving away Andrew Nembhard. Minutes later, he already seemed exhausted. Check out this play, where he lets another player bring the ball up, jogs in a circle for a bit, then completely taps out of the play and grabs his shorts. This wasn't in the fourth quarter; it was in the fourth minute. Indiana's plan was to deny Gilgeous-Alexander from catching the ball anywhere, even 90 feet from the basket. After making baskets, Nembhard routinely raced in to deny an inbound pass before Gilgeous-Alexander could have a free catch. It was a nice adjustment by Indiana. What was amazing, however, was how meekly the Thunder acquiesced to this arrangement. 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The poor shooting inside the arc is a key reason the Thunder offense is only posting a 113.6 offensive rating for the series after rolling to a 119.2 mark in the regular season (good for third in the league) and posting a 118.6 mark against a fearsome Minnesota Timberwolves defense in the Western Conference finals. Usually, a struggle like that could be explained by 3-point variance, but not here: Oklahoma City has made 39.8 percent from downtown in the three games. The Thunder are also drawing fouls at a high rate, making their freebies (83.6 percent) and doing solid work on the offensive glass. Even turnovers — Game 3 aside — have been a plus, with a very respectable 11.9 percent rate for the series. But the one area their offense figured to have a massive advantage has instead been a total zero. The Thunder ranked seventh in the league in 2-point shooting at 55.9 percent, while the Pacers were 23rd in 2-point defense at 55.4 percent — the worst mark of any playoff team. 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Yahoo
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