Texas A&M (20-10, 10-7 SEC) is likely one win away from securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Kentucky 96-85 on Tuesday night, earning its fifth Quad 1 win before facing LSU on the road to finish the regular season.
While many believe that defeating the Wildcats should solidify a spot in the tournament, ESPN writer Neil Pain feels that this was simply a step in the right direction, and the Aggies still have “work to do” before taking on LSU, which is likely a must-win before the SEC Tournament.
Led by four players scoring in double-digits, including guard Rubén Dominguez’s bounce back performance, the Aggies dominated late in the first half and held on to the lead after the half after going on an incredible 44-11 run, which is the epitome of “Bucky Ball” under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan.
The Aggies are a mixed bag on paper, finishing their last eight games in February at 2-6, but have done enough in the eyes of ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi to safely sit in the Last Four Byes section of his updated bracket after Tuesday’s victory. Still, Neil Pain believes that Saturday’s home loss to Texas may come back to bite the Aggies, especially if a road win at LSU does not materialize.
“Recent losses to Arkansas and Texas sent Texas A&M’s at-large chances tumbling from “should be in” to “work to do” territory, but the Aggies clawed some of that positioning back with a home win over Kentucky on Tuesday. Bucky McMillan’s squad still sits at 73% in the consensus of models, so they’re far from a “lock.” They do have five Quadrant 1 victories now but rank 11th among SEC teams in our résumé rating (mid-40s nationally), and parsing their bona fides against the conference’s other bubble teams such as Texas and Auburn still won’t be an easy task for the committee.”
At 73%, a win on Saturday would likely bump the Aggies into the 80-plus % range, while a win in the SEC Tournament would solidify their bid. Either way, I somewhat disagree that Texas A&M is even close to being on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament “bubble,” and Bucky McMillan said it best when describing why his team is worthy of making the big dance.
“I don’t like to make anyone on the committee upset. I’m not going to lobby for our team. At the end of the day, you should want our team in the tournament. We have 20 plus wins and we have a winning record in the SEC. You should want A&M in the tournament. We’ve done won games on the road, we’re an exciting team, and we’re a tough matchup for teams.”
Texas A&M will face LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The game will air on the SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Per ESPN, Texas A&M still has ‘work to do’ to make NCAA Tournament
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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