Everything Texas A&M basketball coach Bucky McMillan said following loss at No. 19 Vanderbilt – 247Sports

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team fell to No. 19 Vanderbilt, 82-69, on the road Saturday before a Memorial Gymnasium crowd of 8,378 in Nashville, Tenn. Below is everything A&M coach Bucky McMillan said after the game, while our takeaways from the loss can be read here.
Lone postgame press conference statement
“It was a tough game. We knew that Vandy, looking at all the metrics, this would be one of the hardest games we had all year coming in here and getting a win. If you’re going to win here versus a really good team, you’re going to have to play A basketball. We did not have a high enough percentage – I’ll just say it like that – from the field in this game to come out here with a victory versus a good team, unless they were going to have a really poor night, and they didn’t have that. They had a good offensive night in ways, and they had a very good defensive night. 
“For the game, we were less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from three and 50% from the free throw line. I thought we had some shots around the rim that we normally make that for whatever reason, we just couldn’t get it to go down. We are a good free throw shooting team, so we are a little bit better than that. We had some threes that some of our guys usually make; we didn’t do that. So to pull an upset on the road, you’re probably going to have to have to do that.
“(The) free throw disparity was big. Don’t read into that statement too much. I got to see why that was. But when they got 29 free throws, we got 10, you got to do a better job of getting to the line, however that is, and keeping them off the line. So I got to see why we weren’t getting to the line and evaluate that. 
“But it’s hard to win when they beat you by 18 points at the free throw line in a game. We are usually on the right side of that, usually getting to the line more. But we weren’t able tonight, for whatever reason, to obviously put more points on the board. We were not shooting well from outside.”
Opening thoughts on his postgame radio show
“We obviously knew they were a good team. I think analytically, with the predictions, this is probably our lowest-percentage chance to pull a road upset, so we knew we’d have to play pretty dang good in here to get it. I always think we’re going to get it. You’re not going to get it when you shoot less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from three, 50% from the free throw line most of the time. It’s probably not going to happen unless they’re really off. They weren’t that, obviously.
“So I didn’t think we played terrible. I just thought that some of the shots around the rim we usually made, some of the threes that we usually make to pull the road upset, some of the free throws we usually make, we usually make some of those. Then it puts that game pressure on them, and it’s tight. It was a 10-point game there late. It could have been a two-point game or whatever, and the whole game is different.
“We gave a lot of offensive rebounds early in the game. But then throughout the game, we did well, and we had more offensive rebounds than they did. They just got them all at the start of the game. That was good to see. We actually had more shot attempts than they did. 
“I got to go back and see this game – this isn’t anything, so (the) SEC (office) and everybody, calm down. Got to see how they got 29 free throws when we had 10. I got to see why that was. Sometimes, could it be missed on one side, not the other? Were we fouling that much? Were they not fouling? I don’t know. But if it was an evenly called game – and it might have been – we got to do a better job of getting to the line more than we did.”
On if they were fouling as much as it seemed and needing to correct that
“Yeah, if we were. Now, we can’t just let them shoot layups. So we got to be physical around there if we are, as long as it’s the same way. They were playing very physical on their end and good defense. They were very big, 6-7 across, stand you up, tough defensive unit. So we got to be able to do the same thing and keep them out of the paint so we’re not in that predicament. 
“Obviously, as we know, we know basketball. When you get down double digits, you’re going to take a little more chances. There are probably going to be a little more fouls. So I got to see why we were not getting to the line more than we did in the game? Could we have done something different, or was there a reason for it? I don’t know. I got to go back and look at it.”
On how tough it is to win on the road, especially with that big of a free throw discrepancy 
“Well, winning on the road does involve getting to the free throw line. We were 28 of 72 from the field. So we missed, what is that, 42 shots, is that right? 42 shots in the game. We took 29 threes in the game. Do the math on that. 43 of those were at the rim, and we only got to the free throw line 10 times. That’s pretty rare.”
On cutting it to seven late while Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner sat out with four fouls
“We were right there. Game pressure is on them right there. We just needed probably a stop. We probably had a little bit there with the four minute mark. We told our guys, ‘Hey, guys, right here, it’s an eight or 10-point game. If we don’t get anything in the backcourt, let’s play solid.’ (Rylan Griffen) tried to make something happen and got a foul. 
“That’s one thing we just got to have more growth in from our whole team. Like, plenty of time left. Plenty of time. Let’s guard him, and let’s not have one of those fouls. Now, I do know with Zach (Clemence), he got pushed from behind in a big play there. It was a big play in the game. We needed him on that floor, because that foul, he’s playing really good right now.”
On how well Clemence has played lately
“He’s playing great. It’s unfortunate, because he didn’t get many minutes. He was fresh out there. Marcus (Hill) was fresh out there. Some of our guys are going to have to just – the duration of the season can be tough on a guy like Rashaun (Agee), who has played a lot of minutes. They got to do what they got to do in that training room to get themselves back.
“But look, this was a game that I told our guys that, ‘It’s not a game you’re expected to win.’ It would have been an upset for sure. By all the metrics, it would have been the biggest upset we had all year. So it wasn’t like we blew a game, but to win a game like that, you’re going to have to shoot that thing really good, play really good and finish really well, and you can’t be out-free throw’d that bad. 
“So the reality of it is, everything is in front of us. The season starts Monday, is the mindset. We got to get back and take care of business, because we’re going to have some great opportunities. This was our hardest opportunity, where we really needed to shoot it well. So we just got to get back and play well here down the stretch.”
On how every game left will be critical
“That’s exactly right. I mean, this was a team that was a top-10 team in the country at one point this year. They don’t lose much in their own house, we know that. We’ve gone through a pretty tough stretch here of really good teams, we know that – and a lot of road play. We got some good teams ahead of us. But like I said, this would have been one (where) you needed an A-plus game. That’s not every game, but we got to get back and do what we got to do, particularly when we get back home.”
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