Texas A&M will take on the winner of Oklahoma vs. South Carolina in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night after finishing the regular season 21-10 and 11-7 in conference play. First-year head coach Bucky McMillan may not have won SEC Coach of the Year, but he certainly deserved the award for leading the Aggies to 20-plus wins and a likely at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in Year 1.
After losing star transfer forward Mackenzie Mgbako for the season, McMillan was forced to play small ball, sacrificing size, and focused on efficiency three-point shooting combined with forcing turnovers, while senior forward Rashaun Agee, who stands at 6’7″, continues to serve as the lone big man that leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounds.
After defeating Kentucky and LSU to finish the regular season, the Aggies are poised to earn a 9 or 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and while McMillan and his veteran team would prefer not to potentially play one of the four 1-seeds in the second round as a 9-seed, I can safely say that making the big dance is all that matters.
On Tuesday, before the weekly pre-game press conference, Bucky McMillan appeared on Wake Up Barstool to discuss his team’s mentality ahead of the conference tournament and Selection Sunday, when the Aggies (hopefully) hear their names announced.
“The most important thing this time of year is you know who you are and you roll with it. It’s a fun way to play and fun way to win. In March the most aggressive team wins, so we want to roll that way and it gives our team confidence.”
This is the right approach, as Saturday’s 3 OT 94-91 win over LSU proved that Texas A&M will take this “aggressive” approach during its postseason run. In terms of the program’s tournament résumé, Texas’s surprising loss to Oklahoma dropped the Aggies’ previous road victory over the Longhorns from a Quad 1 to a Quad 2.
“Who would’ve thought the A&M head coach would be watching the Oklahoma vs Texas game and be pulling for Texas? Because we needed that to stay Quad 1A when we beat them at their place.”
Texas A&M will face the winner of Oklahoma vs. South Carolina on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The game will air on the SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan shares his March Madness mindset
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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