COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Texas A&M guard Manny Obaseki took a deep breath and the ball settled between his hip and dangling arm. He stood up, bent his knee and took a shot, which went into the net.
The key to this free throw routine is simplicity, which is what the senior needed in this aspect of his game.
On Friday, as the 23rd-ranked Aggies defeated No. 21 Ohio State 78-64 at Reed Arena, Obaseki repeated the same routine eight times and watched as nine shots went through the net. It was a epitome of the A&M team’s effort, with 32 of 40 free throws going through the rim.
“I want to thank (head coach) Buzz (Williams) for making me shoot 100 free throws every day after practice,” Obaseki said.
The senior struggled at the free throw line throughout his A&M career, and his 75% clip as a sophomore was his best performance. Last season, his percentage from the free throw line dropped to 58%, and he only had two performances above 75% on five or more free throw attempts.
Throughout the offseason, Obaseki changed his routine before shooting free throws, allowing himself a few seconds to compose himself before going to the line. Calming the adrenaline needed to charge the rim off the dribble has been a key factor in recent free throw success.
“I often run 100 miles per hour, so when I get fouled and I’m at the free-throw line, I slow down, get my body temperature up to where I need it to be, and focus on that free throw,” he said. Ta.
A&M’s goal was to speed up Ohio State from the start, but that didn’t help the Aggies’ shooting much. Both teams combined for a 2-of-21 start from the field, but only two 3-pointers found the net. A&M would get its first spark from the field with two 3-pointers from guard Wade Taylor IV and transfer guard CJ Wilcher.
“When we got to half court, I thought they sped up our offense,” Diebler said. “This was a tricky, tricky game. We wanted to play with great pace against the press and I felt like we didn’t do that in the first half. We did a much better job in the second half. When I got on the court, I wanted to play with more composure, and in the first half I wanted to play with more speed.”
But the parade to the free-throw line started as early as four minutes into the game. By the time Taylor and Wilcher hit shots from behind the arc, the Aggies had climbed to a 10-point lead thanks to six points from the charity stripe.
The Aggies reached the bonus with seven minutes left in the first half.
By halftime, the Aggies went into the locker room leading 31-22, with half of their points coming from free throws.
“I think (free throws) are a big part of what we do, and we want it to be a big part of what we do,” Williams said.
In the second half, the Aggies extended their lead slightly in a shooting contest, making 13 field goals. However, 17 of his points came from the free throw line.
The Aggies also had foul trouble in the season opener against UCF, resulting in a close game. On Friday, Williams said he had some unfortunate fouls that taught him a lesson.
“It was the words of the players on the floor and the words of the players off the floor,” Williams said. “There was a lot of buy-in in terms of time, score, momentum, offense. I think we did a much better job than we did against Orlando in terms of closing out the game with eight minutes left.”
Obaseki finished even with Taylor with a team-high 15 points. Taylor was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and 2-of-4 from 3-point range before fouling out with two minutes left. Guard Turick Phelps and forward Henry Coleman III finished in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Aggies were able to hold an Ohio State team that made 14 3-pointers in the season opener against Texas to eight games through Friday. Guard Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes with 15 points, including one 3-pointer, followed by John Mobley Jr. with 13 points and three points from behind the arc. Mobley entered the game hitting 86 percent and made 3 of 7 3-pointers.
“I thought we were great defensively in the first half,” Williams said. “Analytically speaking, I think it was the best 20 minutes ever.”
Although the NET rankings are still a few weeks away from being released, Friday’s matchup is expected to be the Aggies’ first Quadrant I title of the season, with a non-conference game packed with big matches such as Oregon, Creighton, Texas Tech, and Purdue. are.
But more importantly for Williams Friday, Obaseki performed well in a week of best practices as an Aggie.
“I think he’s at a stage where we’ve said everything he understands, everything he knows, and he just does it,” Williams said. “And I think he took it the right way. When we started the meeting yesterday, I said to the staff, ‘I could be wrong, but my gut feeling is that tomorrow’s MO is very good. It looks like it’s going to happen.”
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