‘Aggies never die’: Aicha Coulibaly & Kay Kay Green recap loss vs. Nebraska in March Madness

“Aggies never die. We showed that tonight and I’m very proud of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win but that’s what we do,” Green said.

The Texas A&M women’s basketball team showed resilience on Friday night by erasing a double-digit deficit against Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Cornhuskers advanced.

“It goes back to Texas A&M, Aggies never die. We showed that tonight and I’m very proud of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win but that’s what we do,” said sophomore guard Kay Kay Green. “We’re in great hands with Joni Taylor, Coach of the Year three years ago. She does what she needs to do, she’s a great coach and she’s going to lead this program and do well for us.”

Senior guard Aicha Coulibaly racked up a double-double with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-17 field goal attempts, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. The sensational senior added 10 rebounds (5 offensive), 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 block.

“I felt like in the first half I wasn’t helping as much and my shot wasn’t falling,” Coulibaly recalled. “In the third and fourth, my team trusted me, they believed in me and were telling me to shoot the ball. I just had my confidence, kept shooting, doing what I do best and it was working.”

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‘Tremendous year’: Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor reflects on loss vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

“You’re looking at a team who won two conference games last year, nine games total. In year two we’re sitting here at the NCAA Tournament.”

The Texas A&M women’s basketball team narrowly lost to Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Corvallis, Oregon.

After the loss, Aggies head coach Joni Taylor reflected on the progress that her team made this season.

“Tough, tough game. I’m really proud of our team’s fight to come back and take the lead being down as much as we were going into halftime and the third quarter,” Taylor recalled. “We’ve had a sense of resilience and fight all year long and really proud of how we handled ourselves and came back in the game. Obviously, Nebraska is a really good team, it came down to the end and they made more plays than we did.

“I don’t want to lose sight of the step we made from year one to year two in our program. You’re looking at a team who won two conference games last year, nine games total. In year two we’re sitting here at the NCAA Tournament, which was one of the goals for our program. So I don’t want how this game ended to overshadow the tremendous year that we had in year two of our program. We have our team returning with the exception of very few, so I’m really excited about the future of our program.

“Hats off to Nebraska, they made more plays than we did, they were really good tonight. We just didn’t have enough time on the clock to win the game.”

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Texas A&M guards Wade Taylor IV, Manny Obaseki & Tyrece Radford reflect on Nebraska win in March Madness

“I feel like the circle and camaraderie that we have together plays a huge part on how we come out and perform each night, so credit them.”

Texas A&M‘s tremendous trio of guards, juniors Wade Taylor IV & Manny Obaseki, and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford led the No. 9 Aggies to a dominant victory against No. 8 Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Memphis.

Taylor tallied a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 field goal attempts & 7-of-10 from 3-point range with 5 assists.

“It’s the consistency in our work. We work every day the same way no matter if we have a good game or a bad game,” Taylor explained. “My teammates have been phenomenal on both ends. I feel like the circle and camaraderie that we have together plays a huge part on how we come out and perform each night, so credit to them.”

Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shots, 3-of-5 from downtown & 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.

“I’m just thankful to my coaches and teammates for trusting in me,” Obaseki said. “They gave me the ball and allowed me to do my thing. I knew I had a mismatch all night and they allowed me to take advantage of that.”

Radford recorded a double-double with 20 points on 8-of-17 attempts & 3-of-5 from the charity stripe with 10 rebounds (5 offensive) and 5 assists.

“I don’t think we changed anything defensively, we just played with our HOH, hands on our head, because they have really good shooters and we just tried to prevent them from going off or getting hot,” Radford recalled. “We knew they were a good team that was going to make a couple of shots but all credit goes to the team just by staying in it.”

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Men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams explains how Texas A&M dominated Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

The No. 9 Aggies scored 98 points versus the No. 8 Cornhuskers, which is the most scored during the NCAA Tournament in program history.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team dominated Nebraska on Friday night during the first round of the NCAA Tournament South region at FedEx Forum.

After the 15-point victory, head coach Buzz Williams spoke to the media in Memphis.

“I think we’re going in the right direction,” Williams said. “I think this is our 29th week and there has been a lot of volatility. Some of it we could’ve controlled better, some of it was out of our control. I think there has been great resolve and resiliency within the group. These three guys (Taylor, Radford & Obaseki) for sure, but even the guys that maybe wouldn’t have an opportunity to be here or come to the stage.

“They’ve had great belief and incredible ownership in what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we do it. We understand that it’s a win-loss business but I want to make sure that I’m held accountable that the lives are judged in hopes that we are changing it for the better.”

The No. 9 Aggies (21-14) scored 98 points versus the No. 8 Cornhuskers, which is the most scored during the NCAA Tournament in program history.

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Best Photos: Texas A&M’s 98-83 win over Nebraska – NCAA Tournament – First Round

Here are the best photos from Texas A&M’s huge 93-83 win over Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

A milestone has been reached as Coach Buzz Williams gets his first NCAA Tournament as the head coach of Texas A&M. The Aggies defeated Nebraska 98-83 behind star guard Wade Taylor IV’s 25 points, including 7 3-pointers. It’s a great story because this was the first season since Buzz took over, and it seemed like he was on the chopping block for most of the season.

Then, in typical Buzz Williams fashion, he gets his team back on track at just the right time to make a run and put them back in the conversation as one of the teams to beat.

Their handling of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first round has earned them a rematch against the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars. The game earlier this year was a hard- battle with Houston fought, squeaking out a four-point victory. However, this time, the Aggies will be better prepared, with Tyrece Radford available after missing the first game. Also, Manny Obaseki has come on as of late, scoring double-digits in multiple games at the back end of the season.

That game will take place on Sunday, March 24 in Memphis

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Texas A&M women’s basketball team’s comeback falls short vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

The Aggies trailed Nebraska in nearly wire-to-wire fashion on Friday in Corvallis, Oregon, during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Texas A&M women’s basketball team trailed Nebraska in nearly wire-to-wire fashion on Friday night in Corvallis, Oregon, during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 11 Aggies (19-13) faced a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter against the No. 6 Cornhuskers (23-11) but fought back to reclaim the lead. However, Texas A&M was unable to keep the advantage after regaining it and lost 61-59.

Senior guard Aicha Coulibaly made a free throw with 15 seconds remaining to give the Aggies a 59-58 lead, capping a 21-10 fourth quarter run. Nebraska scored the final 3 points of the contest from the charity stripe to survive and advance.

Coulibaly gave it her all in what was ultimately her final game for Texas A&M. She racked up a double-double with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-17 field goal attempts, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. The sensational senior added 10 rebounds (5 offensive), 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 block.

The Cornhuskers will play No. 3 Oregon State in the round of 32 on Sunday.

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Texas A&M men’s basketball team begins March Madness with win vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

Manny Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is moving on to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 9 Aggies (21-14) beat No. 8 Nebraska (23-11) by a final score of 98-83 in the first round of the South Region on Friday night at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. In their first March Madness appearance since 2014, the Cornhuskers (0-8) remain as the only Power Five conference program to never win an NCAA Tournament game.

The tremendous trio of guards, juniors Wade Taylor IV & Manny Obaseki, and senior Tyrece “Boots” Radford led Texas A&M to victory. Taylor tallied a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 field goal attempts & 7-of-10 from 3-point range with 5 assists.

Obaseki was unconscious in the final 5:20 of the first half, scoring 16 straight points to give the Aggies a 14-point halftime lead. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-17 shots, 3-of-5 from downtown & 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. Radford recorded a double-double with 20 points on 8-of-17 attempts & 3-of-5 from the charity stripe with 10 rebounds (5 offensive) and 5 assists.

Texas A&M will play the winner of No. 1 Houston versus No. 16 Longwood on Sunday. The top seed Cougars narrowly defeated the Aggies 70-66 earlier this season on Dec. 16 at the Toyota Center.

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Janiah Barker & Aicha Coulibaly speak to media before Texas A&M plays Nebraska in March Madness

“I think we’re all really excited to be here. Honestly, all respect to Nebraska but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

Prior to the Texas A&M women’s basketball team playing Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, senior guard Aicha Coulibaly and sophomore forward Janiah Barker spoke to the media on Thursday.

“I was super excited because this is the first time that I’ve made it to the NCAA Tournament. I’m a senior and it was just a lot of excitement, I didn’t know what to say and it feels great,” Coulibaly explained. “They called our name really fast and I was just sitting in my chair, screaming and jumping all over the place and full of emotions. It’s exciting to see how far we came this season. We had some lows, ups and downs, but we kept fighting and this is where we’re at now, it feels great.”

Barker is grateful to be competing in March Madness as an underclassman.

“First, it’s a blessing to be here,” Barker said. “It was really cool and fun to be apart of the (selection process). It was all very genuine, we had an off day and then we came in ready to work. After the selection show, we saw the coaches and they left to go scout. They came to us and told us that we have a really good chance to do this and they believe in us. I think we’re all really excited to be here.

“Honestly, all respect to Nebraska and everyone here but we’re ready to do what we need to do… which is win.”

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Texas A&M women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor previews matchup vs. Nebraska in NCAA Tournament

“They just have weapons all over the floor and it makes it hard to double because they can hit you from three,” Taylor proclaimed Thursday.

In the second of two installments of the Trev Alberts Invitational, the Texas A&M women’s basketball team faces Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Aggies enter March Madness as the No. 11 seed in the Albany 1 Region versus the No. 6 Cornhuskers. Texas A&M is currently 19-12 overall and Nebraska enters the contest at 22-11. Aggies head coach Joni Taylor spoke to the media on Thursday to preview the matchup.

“They put five scorers on the floor,” Taylor said. “You look at their starters and four out of five make the all-tournament team in some way whether its freshman of the year, first team, all freshman team. They’re extremely talented, play with great pace and also slow you down, pound it inside. They just have weapons all over the floor and it makes it hard to double because they can hit you from three.

“They just stretch you defensively and then offensively they make it very hard as well. In my opinion from the film that I’ve watched, they are as good defensively as they are offensively and I don’t think they get enough credit for how good they are defensively.”

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PREVIEW: Texas A&M men’s basketball team faces Nebraska in first round of NCAA Tournament

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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