3 Stats That Defined Texas A&M's March Madness Loss to Houston

The Texas A&M Aggies first year under head coach Bucky McMillan has come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Aggies came up with a big win over the Saint Mary's Gaels in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament to set up a matchup against basketball powerhouse and a team from the Lone Star State in the No. 2-seeded Houston Cougars.

And with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line, the Aggies were outmatched by the Cougars as they were handed an 88-57 loss to end their season. With the big loss, here are three key stats that contributed to the end of the Aggies season.

Rebound Disparity

Houston Cougars forward Joseph Tugler shoots a layup during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies in a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Emphasis inside the paint was going to be huge in the game, especially with both teams that value rebounding the basketball as a key to their success, and the Aggies completely lost the rebounding battle.

The Aggies lost the rebounding battle by a total of 17 boards as the Cougars outrebounded the Aggies 46-29 on the night. Also of note was the amount of offensive rebounds the Cougars were able to bring down, recording 19 rebounds on the offensive glass compared to the Aggies nine.

And the Cougars took advantage of those extra possessions, cashing in on those 19 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points while the Aggies managed to turn their nine offensive rebounds into eight second-chance points.

Shooting Inefficiency

Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee drives to the hoop past Houston Cougars center Chris Cenac Jr. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Aggies struggled to find a consistent rhythm throughout the game on the offensive side of the court as they shot 34.6 percent from the field, making just 18 of their 52 shots in the game and were a rough 25 percent from beyond the arc, only making 6 of their 24 three-point shots.

The Aggies top scoring options really found a tough time getting started against the Cougars, as leading scorer Rashaun Agee ended the night with just seven points as he shot 3 of 7 from the field and came up empty on all three of his shots from behind the three-point line.

Texas A&M's three-pointer shooter, Ruben Dominguez, also couldn't catch a rhythm as he finished the game with just five points, making just 1 of his 5 three-point shot attempts.

Inability to Force Turnovers

Houston Cougars guard Mercy Miller drives to the hoop past Texas A&M Aggies guard Josh Holloway during the second half. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

In their first round matchup against Saint Mary's, the Aggies forced 18 turnovers from Saint Mary's, the most it had all season long. The Aggies were also able to cash in on those turnovers for 14 points on the night.

However, against the Cougars, the Aggies were unable to pressure them into making constant mistakes as Houston ended the game with just seven turnovers, of which Texas A&M managed just five points off the turnovers.

In fact, the Aggies lost the turnover battle as they turned the ball over 11 times on Saturday night, which the Cougars cashed in on for nine points.

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