Texas A&M men’s basketball won their final regular season game against LSU on Saturday night in a 94-91 triple-overtime thriller. Heading into the SEC tournament next week and most likely the NCAA tournament shortly thereafter, Aggies fans have much to look forward to over the glorious month of March.
Head Coach Bucky McMillan has repeatedly stressed that this season is not a “rebuild year,” despite losing nearly all of last season’s production. Looking back at the season, we can confidently say that McMillan was indeed correct.
In his postgame press conference, McMillan said, “I really felt it was a responsibility for this group to not allow the program to take a big step backwards.” He then humbly compared the Aggies’ 2025 SEC record to this season: an identical 11-7. While the Wade Taylor IV/Andersson Garcia/Pharrell Payne-led Aggies squad captured the hearts of fans, McMillan replicated their conference success with a group of late transfers and unproven talents.
McMillan gave credit where it was due to a tough LSU team, particularly freshman point guard Jalen Reece. After the Tigers lost Dedan Thomas Jr. to an injury in January, Reece was forced into an unexpectedly large role. He sat for an average of just four minutes in the four games leading up to his matchup against the Aggies, and he continued this Ironman stretch by playing a whopping 51 minutes against Texas A&M.
When asked about the freshman standout’s performance, McMillan shouted out Reece’s statline, 17 points (7-12 FG), 5 assists, only 2 turnovers, and explained his history with the freshman Tiger, “I’ve actually known his dad. Years ago, he coached in the Jordan Brand Classic with me.” He followed, “I watched Reece play in high school. He’s a great player, and he’s playing like a great player, like a veteran player this time of year.”
Watch the full press conference here
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Watch Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan’s postgame presser after beating LSU
Reporting by Sam Allred, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
