March Madness Game Day: Are the Aggies Contenders or Pretenders?
All season long, the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team has felt underrated.
Heading into March Madness, they may now have a target on their backs -- with the Aggies currently ranked No. 17 in the nation after failing to enter the top 25 a majority of the regular season.
None of that matters when the seven-seeded Aggies face off against the 10-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday night in Iowa.
The slate is clean and everyone is 0-0.
Win, advance; lose, go home.
It's fairly simple, but the Aggies have a legitimate chance to prove to doubters and outsiders that they firmly belong in the Big Dance.
And yes, they DO belong there -- although many believe the seven-seed is a slap in the face.
If that's the case, the Aggies should cruise in the first round over Penn State.
However, Texas A&M is only a 2.5-point favorite heading into Thursday's tilt.
Rightly so as well, as the Nittany Lions are definitely not a give-me-win in the opening round.
This is the same Penn State team that took Purdue down to the wire in the Big Ten title game -- and almost pulled off the impossible.
March Madness is all about streaks, and honestly, the Nittany Lions are on fire right now.
Granted, the Aggies concluded the regular season on a hot streak, especially after knocking off top-ranked Alabama in College Station.
But Sunday's blowout loss to that exact same Crimson Tide team could have changed the tides for Texas A&M.
Hopefully, coach Buzz Williams can get his team to focus on the positives and what the Aggies did best to end the season -- winning close games.
It's win-or-go-home time in college basketball and the Aggies game is right around the corner.
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