11. Texas A&M (13-3)
When they’re at their best and healthy, Texas A&M can hang with and potentially beat any team in the nation. They showed their strength in nonconference play, with wins over teams like Purdue and Texas Tech, and got SEC play off to a solid start as well. They lost on opening night without Zhuric Phelps and recently had to play without star Wade Taylor IV and fell short once again.
Wednesday was great for the Aggies, triumphing 80-78 on the road in a great game at Oklahoma. Without Taylor, Texas A&M got 34 points from Phelps in an outstanding performance. They didn’t get quite enough on Saturday night, falling 94-88 at home to a very talented Alabama team. They couldn’t quite get two ranked wins this week, though Phelps had 24 points and Pharrel Payne added 23 points.
Defense has been a calling card for this Aggies team though the offense has had their moments as well. It’ll haunt this team to wonder if they could’ve topped Alabama with Taylor leading the charge, but their focus is on the rest of this season, with lots of chances to build an already fantastic resume. Looking ahead, a mid-week trip to Kentucky looms large, while the Aggies have a much more winnable contest against LSU over the weekend.