In 1-of-2 installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Aggies men face Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
In the first of two installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Aggies enter March Madness as the No. 9 seed in the South Region matched up with the No. 8 Cornhuskers. Texas A&M is currently 20-14 overall and was an even 9-9 in SEC play. Nebraska enters the contest at 23-10 overall with a 12-8 record in Big Ten action.
Whether the Aggies advance or not will largely be dependent on the performance of their starting backcourt, junior Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece “Boots” Radford. Senior forward Henry Coleman III enters the tourney with momentum as a new member of the 1,000 point club.
Whoever advances to the second round is likely going to match up with top seed Houston, who faces No. 16 Longwood in the opening round. The Cougars narrowly defeated Texas A&M 70-66 earlier this season on Dec. 16 at the Toyota Center.
The Aggies and Cornhuskers tip off from the FedEx Forum on Friday at 5:50 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast on TNT.
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Senior point guard Alex Caruso led the No. 3 Aggies on a historic comeback to avoid an upset vs. Northern Iowa in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Where were you eight years ago today?
Me, personally? I was glued to my television locked in on the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament as senior point guard Alex Caruso led the No. 3 Texas A&M men’s basketball team on a historic comeback to avoid an upset against No. 11 Northern Iowa.
The Aggies trailed 69-57 with about 35 seconds left and came back to earn a 92-88 double overtime victory against the Panthers. Texas A&M‘s 12-point comeback was the largest rally in the final minute of a game in NCAA Tournament history.
The future All-NBA defensive first team selection scored 25 points in the win. He departed College Station as the program’s all-time leader in assists and steals.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
With this year’s March Madness tournament beginning on Friday for the Aggies men, players like Wade Taylor IV, Tyrece “Boots” Radford and Manny Obaseki will have their own opportunity to leave a postseason legacy in Aggieland.
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“It was a lot of emotion in the room… To see it pay off and for us to get that nine-seed, it really meant a lot to everyone in this room.”
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is officially going dancing in March Madness at the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies (20-14) are the No. 9 seed in the South Region and will play new athletic director Trev Alberts‘ former school, No. 8 Nebraska, in the first round on Friday.
After the selection show, Texas A&M players were not made available to the media but seniors, forward Henry Coleman III & guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford, spoke to 12th Man Productions about their instant reaction to the selection.
“It was a lot of emotion in the room,” Coleman said. “I think from every mom, dad, coach, to player, there was a ton of emotion in the room. Everyone has made sacrifices over this year of something whether if it be school, time away from kids or family, everyone has had to sacrifice. To see it pay off and for us to get that nine-seed, it really meant a lot to everyone in this room.”
Boots has had a challenging season on and off the court and was understandably emotional alongside his teammates when the Aggies were revealed.
“It was emotional,” Radford recalled. “A couple of my teammates were dropping tears and you could see the excitement on everybody’s face, just being ready to play.”
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“There was such a genuine feeling by our guys. So emotional, very raw, very transparent, really, really lifetime memory to be able to see.”
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is officially going dancing in March Madness at the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies (20-14) are the No. 9 seed in the South Region and will play new athletic director Trev Alberts‘ former school, No. 8 Nebraska, in the first round on Friday.
After the selection show, Buzz Williams was not made available to the media but the head coach spoke to 12th Man Productions about his instant reaction to the selection.
“There was such a genuine feeling by our guys,” Williams said. “So emotional, very raw, very transparent, really, really lifetime memory to be able to see that. We’re excited. We’re thankful.”
Williams also reflected on the entire journey that his team has gone on since Day 1 of the season.
“This will be week 29 since we started work the week of Labor Day. Nine weeks of work in preseason, eight weeks of work in non-conference, 10 weeks of work in the SEC, then obviously the conference tournament this past week,” Williams recalled. “To be able to keep going after all the good and bad things, we are grateful. The connectedness that our group has, our players, our coaches, support staff, it’s just been a once in a lifetime deal and something we’ll always remember.”
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“There was such a genuine feeling by our guys. So emotional, very raw, very transparent, really, really lifetime memory to be able to see.”
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is officially going dancing in March Madness at the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies (20-14) are the No. 9 seed in the South Region and will play new athletic director Trev Alberts‘ former school, No. 8 Nebraska, in the first round on Friday.
The Lady Aggies will also play the Cornhuskers in an 11 vs. 6-seed matchup. As noted by Robert Behrens on X, the managing editor of Good Bull Hunting, a Texas A&M website apart of SB Nation, for the first time since 2018, both Aggies men’s and women’s basketball teams have made the NCAA Tournament.
After the selection show, Buzz Williams was not made available to the media but the men’s head coach spoke to 12th Man Productions about his instant reaction to the selection.
“There was such a genuine feeling by our guys,” Williams said. “So emotional, very raw, very transparent, really, really lifetime memory to be able to see that. We’re excited. We’re thankful.”
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.
Texas A&M was eliminated from the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals following a 95-90 loss against Florida. After the game, the media spoke to Aggies guards, senior Hayden Hefner and junior Jace Carter. The Gators outscored …
Texas A&M was eliminated from the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals following a 95-90 loss against Florida.
After the game, the media spoke to Aggies guards, senior Hayden Hefner and junior Jace Carter.
The Gators outscored Texas A&M in the second half 53-40 and Carter was asked by TexAgs about what was different in the final 20 minutes.
“I don’t think anything changed, I think our recipe is our recipe. I don’t think we changed up the way we were playing at that time in the game. I think they just made a lot of shots down the stretch,” Carter explained. “I don’t think it was an offensive problem, we scored 90 points. We just didn’t get stops, had a low amount of turkeys and they shot 50% from three, it was our defense.”
The Eagle asked Hefner about the Aggies’ stagnation in the second half versus Florida.
“When the whistle is getting blown a lot, it’s just hard maintaining a flow with what we’re trying to accomplish,” Hefner said. “We always try to reiterate to one another and the coaching staff is always talking to us about just staying in the moment and not letting that affect what we’re trying to accomplish.”
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“Our defense is wired to not give up points at the rim, not to allow the ball to get to the paint,” he said. “We were slow on the contest.”
Texas A&M men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams spoke to the media after a 95-90 loss against Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and discussed his team’s defensive effort.
“We did a good job in their secondary and transition. It was similar to what we did in College Station when we played them,” Williams said. “I think you have to make a decision on are you going to let them score at the rim or try to be in position to contest the three? They shot 26% of their shots at the rim.
“Our defense is wired to not give up points at the rim, not to allow the ball to get to the paint. We were slow on the contest and I thought they did a good job when it came out of the post. If we mustered getting it to the next guy, the guy that’s in the double is the one who has to get it to the next guy.
“That’s where we were hurt the most.”
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The Aggies are attempting to become the first SEC team to reach three straight finals since Kentucky made five in a row from 2014 to 2018.
After losing in the SEC Championship game last season, Texas A&M has reached the tournament’s semifinals for the third year in a row.
The Aggies (20-13) qualified for the penultimate conference tourney game following an 80-71 win against Ole Miss on Thursday in the second round and a 97-87 victory versus Kentucky on Friday in the quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Texas A&M is attempting to become the first SEC team to reach three straight finals since the Wildcats made five in a row from 2014-18.
Back on Feb. 3, the Aggies narrowly beat Florida (24-10) by a final score of 67-66 at Reed Arena in College Station. The Gators advanced to the semifinals with a 102-88 win against Alabama on Friday night.
As pointed out by 247Sports Texas A&M beat writer Carter Karels on X, the Aggies seem to be in a win-win scenario on Saturday. If Texas A&M wins, it’ll add another Quad 1 win to its resume. However, if Florida prevails, the Aggies’ February victory is likely to be upgraded to a Quad 1 win.
Texas A&M playing Florida tomorrow is a win-win scenario.
If A&M prevails, it will have another Quad I win. If A&M loses, its Feb. 3 win over UF will likely turn from Quad II to Quad I (if it hasn’t already when the NET is updated).
Regardless of the SEC Tournament conclusion this weekend, Texas A&M appears to have earned its spot in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. Tip off on Saturday between the Aggies and Gators is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CST.
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For the first time in nearly a month, the Aggies have won back-to-back SEC games following a 75-69 win vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday.
For the first time in nearly a month, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team has won back-to-back games in conference play.
The Aggies (17-13, 8-9 SEC) defeated Mississippi State (19-11, 8-9) by a final score of 75-69 on Wednesday night at Reed Arena in College Station. Texas A&M outscored the Bulldogs 45-32 in the first 20 minutes of action to take a controlling lead into halftime.
Aggies junior guard Manny Obaseki tallied a team-high, scoring 17 points on 6-of-12 field goal attempts, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Solomon Washington nearly recorded a double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Wednesday’s home finale follows Saturday’s double-digit road triumph at Georgia this past weekend, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Texas A&M is on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament with the SEC Tournament beginning next week.
The Aggies conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi against Ole Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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“It’s a lack of aggression on our part and we’ve got to be more aggressive when we did post up… We just don’t do it consistently enough.”
The Texas A&M women’s basketball team mounted a vigorous comeback against Alabama on Sunday but ultimately lost 78-71.
After the game, head coach Joni Taylor and guards, senior Kay Kay Green & sophomore Sydney Bowles, spoke to the media to share their thoughts on the regular season finale.
The Crimson Tide led 22-21 after a tight first 10 minutes of action but extended their lead to 43-31 at halftime.
“They got to the line nine times. We didn’t get there at all and gave up four 3s. We can’t give a team what they want, and they want to shoot 3s, get to the line and play in transition,” Taylor said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of stopping them in transition. We gave them too many looks in the first half and we weren’t getting to the free-throw line. It’s a lack of aggression on our part and we’ve got to be more aggressive when we do post up. We got the ball inside, we did some good stuff. We just don’t do it consistently enough.”
Green and fellow guards, Aicha Coulibaly & Sahara Jones, were honored pregame on Senior Day.
“I thought they played well,” Taylor recalled. “I thought MJ stepped into that starting role and gave us great energy. I thought she was really locked in defensively and did some really good things for us. Obviously, Sahara always comes out and plays really hard. Kay Kay played really hard. So those were normal starters. MJ is the only one who stepped into that lineup for the first time and I thought she responded. When you have your senior day, any senior, but especially one that normally doesn’t start, your emotions can either get the best of you or you can control your emotions. And I thought they did a good job in that area.”
The Aggies went on a 22-4 run to erase a 14-point deficit but were outscored 19-8 in the final five minutes.
“One thing that they did really well, and we did not, was rebounding. They outrebounded us by double-digits. And that was one thing that came down specifically to the end,” Bowles said. “That kind of killed us because we were there on drives and then we just didn’t get a box out. They got a lot of easy bunnies at the basket and that’s something we definitely have to clean up. That’s something that will really help us win.”
Green shared gratitude for the time she spent in College Station.
“I’ve been here for four years, and it’s been bittersweet. I was able to play for two great coaches in coach Blair and Joni. The love and support around here is what I’ll miss the most,” Green explained. “The 12th Man is very special to me because they welcomed a kid from Chicago with open arms. I’m sad that my time is coming to an end here, but I feel like I had a great four years, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else.”
Texas A&M will play Mississippi State (21-10, 8-8) on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT in the second round of the SEC Tournament from Greenville, South Carolina.
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