Texas A&M’s 2025-26 season ended in disappointing fashion on Saturday night, dropping their round of 32 game against Houston, 57-88.
The Aggies kept it close in the early portion of the game, trailing the Cougars by one with 7:43 left to go in the first half. The floodgates broke open immediately after, however, as Houston stormed to an 18-0 run to take a 43-24 lead and never looked back.
Texas A&M struggled in all areas of this match. The starting five dropped a paltry 26 points on 26.6% shooting from the field; the team was outrebounded by 17 total boards and 10 offensive; the Cougars’ stout defense tallied 7 blocks while the infamously short Aggies couldn’t muster a single one.
While the loss will sting Aggie fans, it’s important to remember that even making the dance was a massive win for a program that was in shambles after losing Buzz Williams. With a new head coach, just one returning player, and a late start in the transfer portal, most analysts wrote off Texas A&M as a team destined for a “rebuilding” year.
The significance of this season was not lost on the players and coaches even after a heartbreaking loss. Below is everything the squad had to say as their season comes to an end.
HC Bucky McMillan on his takeaway from his first season in Aggieland
“It was a great season by our team. We had no returners on our team aside from Chris McDermott. We won 22 games and tied for fourth in the SEC. We knew we had to play a really good game. Houston is a really good team, they can go win this whole thing. They made tough shots. They did a great job rebounding. They controlled the pace. My hats off to Houston, but my hats off to our guys for a remarkable season even though we didn’t make it happen today.”
Rashaun Agee had a similarly optimistic outlook
“We had a great season. I’m thankful coach allowed me to come play for him. We made the tournament in his first year and beat a lot of good teams. I’m just so thankful to be in this position. We did a lot of good things this year.”
Pop Isaacs was proud of his teammates
“That scoring drought at the end of the first half didn’t help us. We weren’t making our shots, they made a bunch of tough shots. Our guys didn’t stop fighting. I’m proud of our guys.”
Agee was pleased with how the team banded together
“The belief in each other and the trust we had in each other was great. The brotherhood that we built this year, I’m just thankful to be here with these guys.”
Isaacs continued to be proud of his teammates, this time for handling adversity well
“There was so much adversity when we could’ve folded, but we figured it out. Nobody expected us to be in this position to play a game with a chance to get to the Sweet 16. We wish we could’ve given ourselves a better chance to win the game, but you can’t take away what we accomplished, winning a tournament game in Bucky’s first year.”
Isaacs is high on the Aggies’ future outlook
“This team did a great job of setting the foundation and setting coach’s culture. Coach did a great job of setting the culture on what A&M basketball will be moving forward. All the guys bought in which was huge. This group will always mean something to A&M basketball. It’s been fun to be a part of it.”
Agee was asked about his legacy as an Aggie, to which he responded,
“We put a lot of fight and energy into this year. There were ups and downs, but my legacy is our first year we came in, won a tournament game, and almost got to the Sweet 16. The legacy is what we did as a team.”
Agee was also thankful for McMillan on a basketball and personal level
“I appreciate him. No matter what goes on, I’m thankful he allowed me to come here and allowed me to lead. He helped me become a man this year.”
McMillan is optimistic about the future of his Aggie squad
“It’s great when you can be a tournament team and compete in our league. We have an identity to who we are. We’ve showed we can play with a lot of teams, but came up short today. This was a major step that should continue to grow from here. We had no returners, and these guys came together for nine months from all across the world. I’ve done this before, I’ve started programs, and everywhere I’ve been, the first year was the lowest we achieved and we rallied from there. If you look at where we started and where we got to, what we accomplished was a big deal for this group.”
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything the Aggies had to say after March Madness blowout loss
Reporting by Sam Allred, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
