Tipoff Delayed, Technical Foul Assessed After Texas A&M Forgot Jerseys At Hotel

Wednesday night’s basketball game between Texas A&M and Florida was delayed by 15 minutes after the Aggies realized during pregame warmups they left their jerseys in the team hotel in Gainesville.

They were assessed an administrative technical foul by the officials, which allowed the Gators to take a 1-0 lead when sophomore guard Will Richard knocked down a free throw before the opening tipoff.

Little delay, will update with new start time.
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 4, 2023

“I forgot the jerseys in my hotel,” Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams said after the game. “That’s probably the right way to say it because I used to be a manager, and if that would have happened, my head coach would have stuck up for me.

“You don’t want the jerseys to get wrinkled, and so I hang them in my room and then I just forgot to put them on the bus. Our players were the ones that recognized it because they warm up without their jerseys so they don’t get sweaty. It’s my fault. It won’t happen again.”

Conference play returns 🔒 pic.twitter.com/lOaCeQT48S
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) January 4, 2023

Florida’s lead was short-lived, as Texas A&M knocked down a jumper on its first possession of the game. The Aggies then led by as much as 11 in the first half before holding off the Gators in the final minutes for a 66-63 victory.

“I’m 37 (years old). I’ve played basketball my whole life,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “That’s never happened to me in any aspect or any point in my career. It wasn’t ideal.

“I thought we were ready to go and we’re sitting there for 15, 20 minutes for those guys to show up … It’s something that happened at my son’s game, but usually not at the SEC level.”

Screenshot courtesy of ESPNU.