‘We’ve got to be us’: Texas A&M’s NCAA Tournament formula is simple

Texas A&M (21-11) entered the week with plenty of momentum after defeating Kentucky and LSU to end the regular season, resulting in a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. However, facing a red-hot Oklahoma team, the Sooners jumped out to a double-digit lead early, while the Aggies failed to capitalize, shooting a poor 38% from the field and 26% from three.

Losing 83-63, first-year head coach Bucky McMillan and his veteran team, entirely made up of offseason transfer additions, have not been consistent late in the season, as the 7-1 start in SEC play ended with a 2-6 finish in February, combined with a two-game losing streak before back-to-back wins. Losing by 20 points this late in the season is never a good thing, but in terms of the NCAA Tournament, the Aggies are still considered an at-large bid.

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Widely projected as a 10-seed heading into Selection Sunday, Texas A&M will receive seven or eight days of rest before taking the court, and based on the last two games, this team needs to reset and refocus on the task ahead. How does this happen? McMillan stated on Thursday night that, for the Aggies to have a chance to advance past the first round of the tournament, a combination of rest and playing an “A+ game” is the only path to success.

“Rest always matters, but the reality of it is, we’re not going to win an NCAA Tournament game if we don’t have more guys play an A+ game. We’re going to have to have that on both sides of the ball. We’ve got to be us.”

How the Aggies responded against Kentucky, trailing by 15 points in the first half only to storm back and hold a double-digit lead the rest of the way, while forcing turnovers and hitting at least 11 three-pointers, is the only way this team has a shot to make some noise in March Madness.

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Publish date : 2026-03-14 10:30:00

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