FAYETTEVILLE — It was a tough week for Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams and his Aggies.
Texas A&M lost at home to Kentucky, then fell behind 20-4 to open Saturday's game at Arkansas.
The Aggies (15-4, 4-2 SEC) fought back to force overtime after Hassan Diarra’s shot with 9.1 seconds left in regulation, but lost 76-73 to the Razorbacks (14-5, 4-3) before a large crowd at Bud Walton Arena
“Incredible fight,” Williams said. "Tremendous courage. Unbelievable togetherness. Top-five arena, environment in the country. Did a lot of good things. Didn't start well. Hard to play from behind against a team that's top 20 in the country with a coach that has a 75% winning percentage with incredibly talented players.
“But hold our guys in the highest regard and believe in them. Believe in all of them, and thankful for a front-row seat, to be a part and to have a chance to learn from them."
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Arkansas finished the game by breaking the press. Davonte “Devo” Davis' pass to Stanley Umude for a dunk put the Razorbacks ahead 76-73 before a last-second shot by Diarra was no good.
Williams informed his team what to do when Arkansas was inbounding the ball with 5.5 seconds left. Letting loose of Umude was not one of the options.
“Try to get a five-second call, try to get a steal, try to get a tie-up because the jump ball favored us with the fourth option being to foul," Williams said of the scenario.
Texas A&M was 19 of 20 from the free-throw line.
“I am thankful we shot a high percentage and I think it is a credit to all the people that have been (direct messaging) me and texting me and wanting me to hire them as our shooting coach,” Williams said. “I read what they said without responding and tried to implement some of that.
“Same thing with our threes. I know we were No. 1 in three-point field goal percentage and didn’t shoot it well against Kentucky (1 of 22), so we tried to implement all the help from the outside. It sure mattered tonight.”
Williams praised his team, which defeated Arkansas 86-81 on Jan. 8 in College Station, Texas, for its fight back Saturday night.
“Everything is new for our group as a team, but it’s also new relative to their experience at this level," Williams said. "I think the word is aplomb. I think they handled it with great aplomb.”
Williams said he told his team it would take a lot to win at Arkansas, which has won four straight.
"What I told them before the game was it would take that level of fight, that level of courage, that level of execution and I think it’ll take a little bit more to win on the road at this place,” Williams said.
Williams thinks there has been a lot of growth for his team since an 81-79 victory at Georgia on Jan. 4. He noted how fireworks went off and the lights went out Saturday after Umude’s dunk with 1.2 seconds remaining.
“Who we were the first time we tipped it off in Athens, vs. who we were when the fireworks went off in the middle of the game in Fayetteville, we’re two completely different teams,” Williams said. “That speaks to how diligent our staff is working. That speaks to the comprehension and the ability to put it together on the floor. I’m really thankful for the last three weeks and excited for tomorrow.”