Busting Brackets
Fansided

SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Matthew Travis

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: The Auburn Tigers hold the winner's trophy after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: The Auburn Tigers hold the winner's trophy after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 15
Next
LEXINGTON, KY – JANUARY 08: Ashton Hagans #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats reaches for a loose ball against the Texas A&M Aggies at Rupp Arena on January 8, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – JANUARY 08: Ashton Hagans #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats reaches for a loose ball against the Texas A&M Aggies at Rupp Arena on January 8, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Aggies . 11. team. 535. . .

Texas A&M has had a whirlwind couple of years, from making Sweet Sixteen trips in both 2016 and 2018 to finishing 2017 and 2019 with a combined record of 30-33 in 2016-17 and 2018-19. This just goes to show you how inconsistent the Aggies have been.

However, Texas A&M hopes to be more consistent moving forward under new head coach, Buzz Williams. Williams, who was with Texas A&M from 2004-2006 as an assistant, has been in Blacksburg as Virginia Tech’s head coach since 2014.

In his time with the Hokies, Williams brought VT to the tournament three consecutive times from 2017-2019, unfortunately winning only one game, which was this past season.

Nonetheless, bringing Williams on as a coach will potentially allow A&M to be competitive in the SEC once again. The Aggies were a team that was in the conversation to make the Final Four in both 2016 and 2018, yet now they’re considered one of the worst teams in the SEC.

Top returning player for each SEC team. light. Related Story

That being said, we know it is possible to get Texas A&M to that standard of excellence, but they are not quite there yet and in 2019-20, they will likely be pretty far from that mark.

The good news though is that the Aggies have six of their top seven scorers from last season returning for the 2019-20 season, with the lone exception being Christian Mekowulu.

What this means is that the Aggies have a team who knows how to play with each other and a team that has built chemistry together. Unfortunately the bad news is they will be playing in a new stadium under new coach, Buzz Williams.

So the new coach is definitely an upgrade, but with such an abundance of players returning, it might impact these players’ chemistry and understanding on the court.

All that being said, I believe the Aggies will finish the 2019-20 season with a 7-5 record in non-conference play and a 9-9 record in SEC play for a total of 16 wins and 14 losses. The question then becomes, is that good enough to make the tournament should they win a game or two in the SEC tournament?

The Aggies best player next season will once again be Savion Flagg who last season averaged 13.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in his freshman season. Flagg was A&M’s leading scorer and he will likely be that once again in year two.

Flagg will pick up right where he left off and will potentially lead the Aggies back to the tournament for the first time since 2018.

Home/SEC