Texas A&M Basketball: How does J.J. Caldwell’s suspension affect Aggies?

The Texas A&M Aggies head into the 2017-18 season as one of the best teams in the SEC, but will face the hardest portion of their non-conference schedule without their starting point guard.

Texas A&M Aggies’ point guard J.J. Caldwell has been suspended for the first five games of the 2017-18 college basketball season.

This is a bit concerning for the Aggies, as their weakest positions are clearly the guards.

If you remember, Caldwell had to sit out all of last season after being ruled ineligible due to something involving his homeschooling prior to college.

Texas A&M are expected to be one of the best teams in the SEC next season and are a lock to make the 2018 NCAA Tournament. However, Caldwell’s absence in the first five games could have consequences down the road for the Aggies.

The five games are against some of the best teams that Texas A&M will face this season, the West Virginia Mountaineers, UCSB Gauchos, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Pepperdine Waves and USC Trojans.

If the Aggies won all five games, they would likely be a top 10 team. Unfortunately, Caldwell’s absence could mean that Texas A&M starts the season 2-3.

While I believe that the absence of Caldwell is not a death blow, the lack of their starting point guard will be extremely damaging to this team and could have far-reaching consequences.

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A few early season losses do not seem like much, but it could mean that the Aggies get seeded against a much better team in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.