The Sooners suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to No. 5 Alabama. Next they want to get back on their feet? No. 10 Texas A&M. Welcome to the SEC.

Saturday’s 107-79 loss was tough for Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide dominated the glass, outscoring the Sooners 51-26, including 22 offensive boards. This glaring disparity in rebounding, combined with the offensive problems in the first half, proved to be a disastrous mix for Porter Moser’s team.

With the Sooners now at 13-1 (0-1), they turn their focus to another top-10 challenge: Buzz Williams’ 12-2 (1-0) Texas A&M team. The Aggies cruised to a commanding 80-60 victory over Texas, a game that was tightly contested at halftime before Texas A&M exploded to a 20-point lead in the second half.

Let’s break down what the Aggies bring to the table and what No. 17 Oklahoma needs to do Wednesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center to secure their first conference win — and a statement top-10 victory.

The Aggies are led by star guard Wade Taylor IV, who is averaging 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Taylor was a key part of last season’s team that made it to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. He’s been in a shooting slump lately – he was just 2 of 12 from three in his last two games – but his value goes far beyond his three-point shot.

Taylor is a versatile scorer who can hurt teams in a variety of ways. Last season, he scored 30 or more points in five different conference games, proving that he can take over on offense in a variety of ways and score at all levels of the game.

Moser had high praise for Taylor ahead of Wednesday’s match, saying: “Elite player. Elite, elite player. Scores at all levels. He’s such a veteran. Nothing fazes him. There is nothing he hasn’t seen. “Oh, you want to do that to me on this ball screen?” “Fine, I’ll do it.” Just an elite player. Competitors. Uber competitor. I just have a lot of respect for him when I watch him from afar. Now I’m diving into it, elite player.

Joining Taylor in the backcourt is Zhuric Phelps, a 6-4 guard who is averaging 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In their win over Texas, Phelps led the Aggies with 18 points, shooting 6-8 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line.

What does Moser notice? “Of course the rebounding, but the toughness in defense. They fight, they will never give up any possession. They will make sure you earn your baskets and that makes it hard. They are elite defensively and can dominate rebounding. They dominate the coaching statistic that you want to make more free throws than they attempt.”

How good are they on defense and how good are they at rebounding? Here’s how the Aggies rank in various stats:

The Sooners outrebounded Alabama 51-26 and surrendered an incredible 22 offensive rebounds. Now they face the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country. It’s simple: Oklahoma has to hold its own in the standings.

Saturday’s loss to Alabama was a stark reminder that elite teams like Alabama and now Texas A&M cannot allow rebounding to create additional offensive possessions. What stands out is how the Sooners overcame a similar challenge against Arizona, which ranks 7th in offensive rebounding. In this Battle 4 Atlantis matchup, Oklahoma was tied with Arizona on offense and was outrebounded by just four total rebounds – a much better performance than what we saw against Alabama.

For the Sooners to have a chance against the Aggies, they will need a performance more similar to the Arizona game or even the Michigan game. They don’t need to overtake Texas A&M, but they can’t afford to give up nearly as many offensive players as they did Saturday. Competing on the glass will be crucial.

This matchup will be close if Oklahoma gets a win. And if they want to beat a team of Texas A&M’s caliber, they’ll need two of their three guards to go alongside Jalon Moore, who has been consistent all season.

Oklahoma already has two wins against the top 20 teams in KenPom: Arizona and Michigan. Against Arizona, Moore scored 24 points, but it was also the guards who made key contributions. Jeremiah Fears scored 26 points and Duke Miles added 11. Against Michigan, Fears was even more dominant with 30 points and Miles contributed 17. Kobe Elvis also had his moments.

For the Sooners to pull off the win against Texas A&M, at least two of these three guards will need to be at full speed. Against Alabama, Fears and Miles rebounded with strong second halves, but by that point the game was already out of reach. The key is that they stay in the game from the start and stay in control, then step in when the game is on the line – just as they have done before. This is a simple but necessary key as Oklahoma faces top-tier SEC teams.

Shooting from deep is not Texas A&M’s strength. In fact, they rank last in the SEC in three-point percentage and are shooting just 30.8% from beyond the arc. In their last game against Texas, they performed poorly from three-point range, going 2-for-19 (10.5%).

This is an area where Oklahoma has an advantage. The Sooners were outstanding defensively against the three, holding their opponents to just 27.4% shooting from behind the arc – the fifth-best mark in the country and second-best in the SEC. On paper, it’s a battle between one of the best three-point defenses in the country and one of the worst three-point offenses in the league.

What’s interesting is that Texas A&M scores almost as many points at the free throw line as they do at the three-point line. 26.6% of their points come from distance while 23.1% come from the free throw line. Against Oregon, they attempted a season-high 35 three-pointers but lost by 10 points. For Oklahoma, the key is clear: let the Aggies beat you from distance.

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