It was a tough night in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the Texas A&M Aggies, as they suffered an 88-57 throttling from Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the Aggies’ dominant performance against Saint Mary’s on Thursday night, Texas A&M was unable to match Houston’s physicality or dominance on the glass. The Cougars notched 19 rebounds, compared to the Maroon and White’s nine, while also scoring 18 second-chance points.
Following a massive 24-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half, the game was already won for the Cougars. The Aggies tried to battle back, but all the momentum stayed in the corner of Kelvin Sampson’s squad, as they eliminated Bucky McMillan’s unit from March Madness and advanced to the Sweet 16. With the win, Houston will play the winner of the Illinois-VCU game.
However, there is no understating just how incredible a campaign it was for McMillan in his first year as the head coach in Bryan-College Station. The former Samford coach had just one scholarship player on the roster when he arrived at Texas A&M last spring. He immediately went to work in the transfer portal and secured one of the top classes in the country in just a few months.
Before the season tipped off, the Aggies were projected to finish 13th in the SEC with no NCAA Tournament appearance in sight. McMillan led his team to a fourth-place finish in the league standings, while also making the second round of March Madness for the program’s third consecutive season.
Here are some of the best social media reactions from Texas A&M’s loss against Houston in the round of 32 on Saturday:
Season comes to an end in OKC
Plenty to be excited about after Year 1 of ‘Bucky Ball’
Tough way for the season to end, but plenty of success under McMillan in his first year coaching the Aggies
Houston dominates its way to a seventh-straight Sweet 16 appearance
Incredible year ends in the round of 32 for Texas A&M
Final statsheet from the matchup against the Cougars
McMillan’s successful year sparks excitement for Year 2 at Texas A&M
Houston brings the firepower to the court against the Aggies in the second round of March Madness
Holloway performs well for the Aggies against the Cougars
Tough loss for the Maroon and White
Fanbase expresses gratitude and excitement for McMillan’s first year at A&M
Belief in each other was the formula for the successful season
Respect shown from Houston after its big win
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Social media reactions from Texas A&M’s 88-57 loss to Houston
Reporting by Dylan Flippo, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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