News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRISTOL, Conn. – Preeminent college basketball television personality Dick Vitale named Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams as his National Coach of the Week on Tuesday after the Aggies’ delivered a 70-66 win over No. 11 Purdue at the Indy Classic in Indianapolis last weekend.
A longtime ESPN analyst and 2008 inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Vitale honored Williams with his weekly coaching award after the Aggies earned their highest-ranked non-conference victory since beating No. 10 North Carolina in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. It was the program’s highest ranked regular season non-conference win since the Maroon & White took down the No. 10 USC Trojans in Los Angeles on Nov. 26, 2017. Texas A&M improved to 3-0 vs. AP Top 25 teams this season.
The then-No. 17 Aggies took the lead for good with just over 16:00 remaining and led by as many as 12 points in the four-point victory. Texas A&M won the rebound battle by 11, 34-23, and tallied 14 offensive boards against Purdue. The Aggies earned 24 trips to the free throw line and hit 71% of their freebies. The Aggies’ bench was essential to the victory as the reserves scored 29 points and pulled down 21 rebounds.
With the victory, the Aggies vaulted five spots to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 and seven rungs to No. 11 in the USA Today coaches poll.
Dickie V’s Weekly Stars
Coach of the Week: Buzz Williams, Texas A&M (Beat No. 11 Purdue for its third top 25 win)
Player of the Week: Lamont Butler, Kentucky (vs. Louisville, 33 points, 10-10 FG, 6-6 3ptr.)
Diaper Dandy: Dylan Harper, Rutgers (24.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.5 apg)
Team of the Week: UConn (Posted its first top 10 win of the season and head coach Dan Hurley’s 300th win)