Texas A&M Basketball: Are the Aggies an NCAA Tournament team?
The Texas A&M Aggies have fallen short of expectations this season, leaving them on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
When the season began, hopes were high in College Station. The Texas A&M Aggies received the No. 25 ranking in the first AP poll. Robert Williams spurned the NBA Draft for a sophomore season. Star DJ Hogg came back as well.
A season-opening victory over West Virginia in Germany validated all of the hype surrounding the program.
By the end of November, they had a road victory over USC in hand as well. They jumped all the way to No. 7 in the country.
A three-point loss to Arizona did little to dull the Aggies’ shine.
Then, SEC play began.
Texas A&M has imploded during the conference schedule. They started the slate as the No. 5 team in the country. So far, they’ve invalidated that belief with just three wins: home over Missouri, Ole Miss, and Arkansas.
Their 3-6 mark is tied for the second worst mark in the SEC.
Williams has been part of the problem, instead of the solution. He’s disappeared in big games and is averaging just 10.4 points per game. He needs to step up and prove why some has him as a lottery pick in last year’s NBA Draft.
The Aggies also need to solve their shooting woes. They struggle from both the free throw line and three-point arc, where they are shooting 68.1% and 32.7%, respectively.
Texas A&M’s most important stretch comes the next week. On Wednesday, they travel to Auburn, the best team in the SEC. On Saturday, they host the Kentucky Wildcats. Both games will be on national television.
It’s the last chance the Aggies have to boost their resume.
At the moment, their impressive nonconference schedule – both the wins and the losses – suggest they deserve inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. Our latest bracketology lists them as a No. 10 seed.
That’s subject to change if Texas A&M can’t get their SEC act together.