Texas A&M (17-6, 7-3 SEC) will host Missouri on Wednesday night, looking to earn its eighth win in SEC play after suffering back-to-back losses to Alabama on the road and Florida at home amid one of the toughest three-game stretches in the regular season.
While Saturday’s 86-67 loss to the Gators was a blowout and a clear by-product of poor shooting, the news that Alabama center Charles Bediako, who was officially deemed ineligible by the NCAA after Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Daniel F. Pruet denied his motion for a preliminary injunction, ending the former NBA G-League player’s 2025-2026 season.
In five games this season with Bediako in the lineup, Alabama went 3-2, including close wins over Texas A&M (100-97) and Auburn on the road (96-92), scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds against the Aggies, and 12 points and three boards against Auburn. In both games, Bediako’s size and strength in the paint played a big role on defense and likely prevented several possessions that could have gone the other way.
Immediately after the news, it was assumed that Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan would comment on the matter, leading to Tuesday’s press conference, where he was asked if the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee should factor in Bediako’s ineligibility, especially for the Aggies, Auburn Tigers, and Tennessee Volunteers, who all fell to the Crimson Tide with the 7-footer in the lineup.
“How is it made right for us? Because they’re not going to be able to play with their full roster against the other teams when we had to play against their full roster.”
McMillan “hopes” that the Selection Committee will factor in Bediako when the time comes, and while it’s highly unlikely these three wins will be vacated, it’s important to note that Texas A&M’s road loss to Alabama is considered a Quad 1A loss, and likely won’t impact the Aggies’ tournament seeding more than “bad losses” against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents.
Here is the entire quote from Bucky McMillan regarding Charles Bediako’s ineligibility:
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M coach questions impact of Alabama players’ ineligibility
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
