The Aggie basketball team add a much-needed deep threat to the team via the transfer portal
The Texas A&M basketball team had a rollercoaster ride of a season, looking like the best team in the SEC to the worst team in the SEC. It had nothing to do with the lack of effort, as it was mainly due to them not being able to hit a shot from anywhere outside of the paint. The Aggies ranked near the bottom of the league in free throw percentage (.707), field goal percentage (.402), and 3-point percentage (.293).
Luckily for the Aggies, help is on the way, with former Nebraska guard CJ Wilcher transferring to College Station to join Coach Buzz Williams. His stat line is exactly the type of production they need from their role players. Wilcher averaged 7.7 points, shot .451 overall, and only missed two free throws on the season for a .939 percentage.
Probably the most important statistic is that he shot .394 from beyond the arc. If we can bring that same shooting to the Aggies, they can force the team to stretch its defense, allowing Wade Taylor and Manny Obaseki to slash to the basket.
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Texas A&M fan favorite Andersson Garcia named to finalist for the 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year
Texas A&M was known for its tenacious defense, and the lynchpin was Dominican Dennis Rodman, professionally known as senior Aggie forward Andersson Garcia. His play throughout the season landed him a finalist for the 2024 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year.
Garcia had a record year in the Maroon & White, breaking two over four decades old records. He surpassed Claude Riley’s offensive and total rebounding number by ten with 327; then, he passed Aggie legend John Beasley’s conference rebound record with 180. He capped off the season by making the All-SEC defensive team.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches and two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, AZ, the menâs Division I Basketball Championship site.
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Texas A&M’s season comes to an end after a hard-fought battle against Houston that ended in an overtime loss
Texas A&M (21-15, 9-9 SEC) took No. 1 Houston (32-4, 15-3 Big 12) to the wire and then some before running out of magic late in the overtime.
The first half was as intense as expected, with neither team being able to run away with the game. There were 11 lead changes and seven ties early, but few issues on the Aggie side ball were apparent that never gave A&M to retake the lead after Houston went up by seven about halfway through the half. However, Tyrece Radford and Manny Obaseki did what they do best: getting to the rim and combining for 19 points.
A&M has been getting to the charity stripe but only made 50% of their free throws and 1-6 from the three-point line. Houston did just enough to stay ahead, but with Wade Taylor held to only one point through the first 20 minutes, the Cougars only took a five-point lead into halftime, up 43-38.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
second half:
After scoring the first points of the second half, the Aggies started to struggle on both ends of the court. Houston was able to extend their lead to nine, which caused Buzz Williams to call a timeout. For most of the half, Houston stayed a step ahead of A&M, which had a nine-point lead until late in the half.
The Aggies just couldn’t cut into the lead enough as the Cougars regularly hit a second-chance shot or knocked down a timely three-point shot. Then, with under a minute left, A&M started chipping away while playing the trap and foul game. With just seconds left on the clock, the Aggies pulled within three after Wade knocked down all three free throws after being fouled.
With 10.1 seconds, Taylor got two chances and missed both; however, 1.2 seconds remained. Radford was about to find an unlikely hero open at the three-point line, and with time expiring, Andersson Garcia knocked down a three to send the game into overtime.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
overtime:
Ultimately, A&M ran out of gas in overtime and could not hit a few clutch shots late. The Aggie gave Houston all they could handle, but they fell 100-95 in the tournament’s best game to this point. They gave it all, but the defeat will leave them out of the Sweet Sixteen for the sixth straight year.
In the end, an inconsistent Wade Taylor and 16 missed free throws lost the game, but this is why they call it March Madness.
Below are the Aggies critical contributors from the game:
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Star Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV was named the District 20 First-Team prior to the NCAA Tournament
Ahead of the NCAA Tournament the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named their Division I All-District Teams. On March 19 240 college basketball found out if they made the first or second team in their respective district.
Wade Taylor IV was the lone Texas A&M player to make the District 20 First-Team along with Johni Broom (Auburn), Dalton Knecht (Tennessee), Antonio Reeves (Kentucky), Mark Sears (Alabama). Taylor was also recently named to the All-Tournament team after the SEC tournament where he led all scorers with 82 points through three games.
Taylor and the Aggies will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (23-10) in the South Region on Friday March 22 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. A&M willed their way back into the tournament and Taylor is determined to get Coach Buzz Williams his first NCAA Tournament win in Aggieland.
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The Texas A&M women’s team makes the NCAA Tournament for the first time in since 2021
The SEC is a challenging gauntlet in all of Women’s NCAA basketball, with eight teams making the NCAA Tournament and three making the WBIT Tournament, with a total of 11 teams making it to the postseason. For the first time since 2021, the Texas A&M Aggie women’s basketball team will be back in the NCAA tournament.
The Aggies ended the season at 19-12, doubling their win total from last season and earning a No. 22 seed where they will face No. 6 seed Nebraska in the Albany 1 region on March 22. This talented and determined A&M team in the big dance marks the first time since 2018 that the women’s and men’s teams will be in the postseason.
— Texas A&M Women's Basketball (@AggieWBB) March 18, 2024
Unsurprisingly, with views being the primary objective for the NCAA, they match both teams against Nebraska just a few days after Texas A&M hires Trev Alberts away from Nebraska.
Texas A&M will face Nebraska on Friday, March 22 at 9;30 p.m. in Corvallis, Oregon. The game time and watch options will be announced later this week.
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The Nebraska men’s basketball team is going dancing.
The Nebraska men’s basketball team is going dancing. The Huskers were selected as an at-large bid in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska, the No. 8 seed, will play No. 9 seed Texas A&M on Friday, March 22, in Memphis, Tennessee. The matchup is an interesting one, as on Wednesday athletic director Trev Alberts left Nebraska to take the same position at Texas A&M.
Nebraska is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win as a program. The Huskers are 0-7 all-time. Their last appearance was in 2014 when they lost to Baylor in the Round of 64.
Photos: Here are some of the best photos from Saturday’s game against Florida.
The Texas A&M menâs basketball team ran out of team letting a sizable lead slip away in their loss to Florida on Saturday afternoon.
For the first time in three seasons, the Aggies will not be in the SEC Championship game. They had a strong showing over the last six games with the team playing some of the best basketball we have seen this year.
Wade Taylor is rounding back into All-SEC form reached a milestone of 1,500 points. Solomon Washington and Manny Obaseki have stepped up as well over the past month giving them much more needed offense that’s been missing most of the year.
The Aggies will now have to wait until Sunday to see if they did enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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Photos: Here are some of the best photos from Thursday’s game against Kentucky.
On Friday night, Texas A&M (20-13) laid the hammer down against the Kentucky Wildcats (23-9) in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, defeating the blue-blood program 97-87 to move on to the Semifinals.
The Aggies are trying to leave no doubt for the selection committee with a very impressive win over a Top 10 team and sweeping the Wildcats in the two games played between the teams. Wade Taylor had one of his better games in the last few weeks looking every bit like the pre-season SEC Player of the Year.
Taylor and Tyrece Radford combined for a dominant 55 points with Taylor going for a Texas A&M SEC Tournament record 32 points. Head coach Buzz Williams has his squad playing at a high level with an opportunity to make the SEC Championship game for the third consecutive year if they get past Florida on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies will play Florida in a Semifinal matchup at 2:30 p.m. CT. on Saturday afternoon.
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Texas A&M now knows who and when they will play in the SEC tournament
The stage is set, and Texas A&M will need to give their best performance starting on March 17, when they will be back in action to face Ole Miss in a rematch of their regular-season finale.
All 14 teams know who and what time they will play now that the brackets have been solidified for the SEC Tournament. A&M currently riding a three-game winning streak and most recently blowing out the Ole Miss Rebels 86-60 on the road. Coach Buzz Williams has the Aggies back on track with Manny Obaseki starting to emerge at a critical point of the season.
Texas A&M finished the regular season 9-9 in conference play and secured the seventh seed in the conference tournament where they will get a quick rematch against Ole Miss in the second round. A few strong wins can increase the hopes of the Maroon & White making the NCAA Tournament depending on where you get your bracket news the Aggies could be one of the next four out or not even on the bubble at all.
Either way, the Aggies just need to handle business next week and win as many games as possible to give them the opportunity for extra basketball once the SEC tournament is complete.
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Texas A&M has won their third straight SEC win gaining much needed momentum as they head into the SEC Tournament
Texas A&M (18-13, 9-9 SEC) put on a dominant performance on the road, beating Ole Miss (20-11, 7-11 SEC) by 26 points, improving its resume as it heads into tournament season.
I don’t think Coach Buzz Williams could’ve asked for a better start to the game as the Aggies jumped out to a 14-0 lead, mainly off the hot hand of Manny Obaseki. The lineup with Obaseki, Wade Taylor, and Tyrece Radford to start the game proved to be an elite-level decision, putting an emphasis on attacking the basket early and often. The trio combined for 35 points and seven three-pointers.
Ole Miss tried to chip away at the lead slowly, getting within six points in the first half. However, the Aggie defense did what they do best and pestered the Rebels, which led to a scoreless two minutes for the home team. Obaseki led all scorers with 15 combined with Radford’s 12, as the Aggies took a 42-29 lead into the locker room and never looked back.
SECOND HALF:
Starting the second half at about the 16-minute mark, the Aggies hit back to back to back three-pointers to go up 20 with a score of 57-37. There was not much Ole Miss could do against an A&M team that has been on a mission to right the ship over the past few games.
The Rebels never got close again, as the Aggies pushed Ole Miss around the courts, out-rebounding them 50 to 21, and three Aggies hit double-digit rebounds. Obaseki had his best game of the season, and if he can keep this pace up, A&M will have that third scorer they have desperately been looking for.
With the big win, Texas A&M has now finished .500 in conference play and looks to be locked into the seventh spot in the SEC Tournament. Depending on what happens in the remaining SEC games today, the Aggie will likely get a quick rematch with Ole Miss.
Below are the Aggies critical contributors from the game:
Texas A&M will play next at the SEC tournament on Thursday, March 17, at 6 p.m. CT.
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