On Friday, 9-seed Texas A&M (20-14) will take on 8-seed Nebraska in the first Round of the NCAA Tournament, as both squads are competing in the South Region with a chance to likely take on the Top-seed Houston Cougars in the Round of 32.
Outside of the apparent irony surrounding former Athletic Director Trev Alberts’s transitioning to Texas A&M for the same role, we now know the selection committee has a sense of humor, but that’s not the real story behind the matchup. For the Aggies, star junior guard Wade Taylor IV is, as the kids say, an absolute bucket, but so is ascending senior Nebraska guard Keisei Tominaga.
March Madness is made for players like Tominaga, whose underdog background, combined with his ability to hit circus-like shots due to his deep range, has likely led to more than half of the country hopping on the Cornhuskers bandwagon. This is also Nebraska’s first postseason appearance since 2014.
Keisei Tominaga is about to single-handedly take the nation by storm…
Nebraska has been must watch tv since he joined their lineup. He’s one of the most electric players in the entire country. Japanese Steph Curry.
If you’re not familiar, get familiarpic.twitter.com/Cnr8CBAZAi
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) March 18, 2024
So, how will the Aggies prevent Tominaga from destroying their NCAA Tournament dreams? Well, this is more about A&M’s offense than defense, as the Aggies’ elite guard trio led by Taylor, Tyrece Radford, and emerging junior guard Manny Obaseki will need to take advantage of Nebraska’s 114th-ranked defense and attack the basket at will to put pressure on Tominaga to attempt 3-pointers if A&M can get out to a solid lead.
Even more important, head coach Buzz Williams will likely deploy highly athletic sophomore forward Solomon Williams to put pressure on Tominaga early, something that was not last March during the Aggies blowout lost to Penn State, who shot 59% from 3-point range.
Texas A&M will face Nebraska in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 22 at 5:50 p.m. CT. The game will air on TNT.
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