Texas A&M stays pat in ESPN’s latest basketball Power Rankings

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No. 22 Texas A&M (21-9, 10-7 SEC) entered the week with a lot of work to earn as high as a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but after defeating No. 1 Auburn 83-72 on Tuesday night, the Aggies are just a win vs. LSU on the road to earning said 3-seed, and entering next week’ SEC Tournament likely as the 5-seed.

Nationally, the Aggies regained respect from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee and the national media after defeating what many consider the best team in college basketball. They dominated the Tigers defensively while holding senior forward Johni Broome to a season-low 8 points, sending a message that their previous four-game losing streak was just a bump in the road.

This week, the focus is on defeating an LSU team that continues to play better than its dismal record shows in Baton Rouge. The Aggies will need to play with the same intensity on defense, continue driving the paint, and limit turnovers. After scoring 16 points against Auburn, star guard Wade Taylor IV is 9 points away from breaking A&M’s all-time scoring record.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello released his updated college basketball power rankings, keeping Texas A&M at No. 15 after defeating LSU. Here is his reasoning for the Aggies not rising in the rankings:

“Texas A&M thoroughly dominated Auburn on Tuesday, leading wire-to-wire- not a bad way to end a four-game losing streak. The Aggies scored the first even points of the game and never really let the top-ranked Tigers get to within striking distance in the second half. The biggest difference between Tuesday’s win and the preceding four losses? Offensive rebouding. The best offensive rebounding team in the country, A&M grabbed 60% of its missed shots against Auburn.”

Texas A&M’s 24 offensive rebounds and nine 3-pointers are the primary reasons the Aggies came out victorious, outside of playing with consistent intensity on defense. This game can serve as a blueprint moving forward for a team that is much-too experienced to let up when the stakes…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/texas-m-stays-pat-espns-213213758.html

Author : Aggies Wire

Publish date : 2025-03-06 21:32:00

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