14. Texas A&M (9-2)
It’s hard to put into words the roller coaster of this season for Texas A&M, though we’ll try our best. The Aggies lost on opening night to UCF without one of their best players and then lost a tough game to Oregon in the Players Era Festival. Aside from that, everything’s been perfect for a team with nice wins over Ohio State, Creighton, and Rutgers; and that was before this week!
Last Sunday proved very fortuitous, as the Aggies headed to Fort Worth and left with a 72-67 win over Texas Tech. Wade Taylor IV had another good showing with 19 points while Jace Carter added 16 points off the bench. They then were in Indianapolis for a big showdown with Purdue as part of the Indy Classic with similar results, as Texas A&M won 70-66 against those Boilermakers. Pharrel Payne and Zhuric Phelps proved their value with 16 points apiece.
Let’s not pretend that everything is peachy; the long-range shooting has been awful at times, though this team really takes advantage of rebounding and second-chance opportunities. They’ve now built a resume with some intriguing victories, helping greatly by their efforts in the last seven days. It’s just a pair of easy games at home before SEC play starts in early January; what exactly will we see from this team by that point?