NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Duke, fall in latest top 25 power ranking

20. Texas A&M (6-2)

There are certainly expectations in College Station this year, with this Texas A&M squad trending in a great direction after nearly winning the conference last season. The SEC is a very tough league and the Aggies are certainly getting battle-tested early in this season. Unfortunately, they’ve lost both Henry Coleman III and Tyrece Radford to injuries in recent weeks, causing them to drop their first few games.

First, they salvaged a third place finish at the ESPN Events Invitational back on Sunday, getting just enough to win 73-69 over Iowa State. Solomon Washington led the way with 18 points while star Wade Taylor IV added 14 of his own. Coleman was back on Wednesday at Virginia, but the Cavaliers’ defense was too much for the Aggies, who fell 59-47. Coleman did have 16 points and 14 rebounds but the team shot poorly in the game.

Texas A&M is certainly heading in the wrong direction, though they have dealt with injuries and a schedule that’s been sneaky difficult. The Aggies have played just two of their eight games at home and will get plenty of more winnable opportunities in the weeks to come. Getting healthy and back into a rhythm is the clear goal, starting next week with a very winnable home game against DePaul.