Aggies Earn No. 7 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Play No. 10 Penn State
For the first time since 2018, the Texas A&M Aggies men’s basketball team will be dancing in March.
The Aggies earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament Sunday during the selection show and will face 10th-seeded Penn State on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. All-time A&M is 4-0 against the Nittany Lions. The two last played in 2017 at the Barclays Center as part of the the Progressive Legends Classic.
A&M will have a chance to make the Final Four near its home in College Station. The tournament this year will end at NRG Stadium in Houston, a mere 100 miles from Reed Arena.
“I do think it’s kind of cool – not that I’m using it to entice our guys because it’s hard to win games regardless of locale – that it’s just down the street,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said Sunday following the Aggies’ 82-63 loss to Alabama.
Penn State was one of the biggest sleepers in the Big Ten tournament, thus helping garner a seed for March Madness. After starting as the No. 10-seed, the Nittany Lions rattled off wins over No. 7-seed Illinois, No. 2-seed Northwestern and No.3-seed Indiana to make the Big Ten final.
The Nittany Lions would lose Sunday 67-65 to Purdue, which picked up the top-ranked seed in the West Region. Houston (Midwest Region), Alabama (South Region), and Kansas (East Region) also picked up No. 1 seeds after productive 2022-23 campaigns.
After starting the season 6-5, with losses to Quadrant IV programs such as Murray State, Wofford, along with losses to Boise State and Colorado, a tournament bid seemed far-fetched for the Aggies. Instead, A&M rebounded in conference play, closing out the regular season with a 17-3 record and second-place finish in the SEC.
“We have improved a lot,” A&M guard Wade Taylor IV said Sunday. “Coach (Williams) preaches to us every day about being resilient, staying together through the ups and downs. We have had a lot of ups and downs through these last 65 days."
Should A&M win Thursday in Des Moines, it’ll face the winner of 2nd-seeded Texas or 15th-seeded Colgate in the Round of 32. Texas and Texas A&M will renew the long-formed rivalry in 2024 when the Longhorns, along with Oklahoma, make the jump to the SEC.
The Aggies have made six Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two coming in 2016 and 2018 under then-coach Billy Kennedy. A&M has never advanced to an Elite Eight, could be in great position should it win in the second round.
Tip-off from Des Moines has not been determined as of this time.
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