No. 13 Texas A&M (0-1) entered Week 1 of the 2024-2025 college basketball season, facing one of the tougher opening-season challenges among the rest of the SEC against UCF.
The 13th-ranked Aggies were the superior team on paper despite missing veteran guard Zhuric Phelps, who transferred from SMU during the offseason, but that didn’t matter to the also undermanned home team, who took full advantage of A&M’s offensive ineptitude late in the second half.
Star point guard Wade Taylor IV was limited to 13 points and 4/15 from the field, while former Minnesota center Pharrel Payne, who led the Aggies with 15 points and six rebounds, fouled out late, resulting in an A&M going scoreless from the field in the find final three and half minutes of the game.
Losing 64-61 after failing to take the game into overtime, head coach Buzz Williams has plenty to fix before the Aggies host Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday afternoon.
After the loss, ESPN’s Bracketology update revealed that Texas A&M is projected as a 5-seed facing 12-seed Princeton in the Midwest (Indianapolis) Region. It’s way too early, but it proves that losing an opener, especially on the road, is just a blip on the radar with many opportunities to right the ship.
Texas A&M will head home, set to host Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday, Nov. 8th inside Reed Arena.
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