Texas A&M's Current Spot in SEC Standings is Turning Heads

First place.

How sweet does that sound for the 12th Man?

It has to feel great considering that Texas A&M basketball was picked to finish No. 13 overall in the conference with first-year head coach Bucky McMillan taking over the program after leaving Samford in hopes of bringing the program to another level it’s never seen.

Right now, signs point directly upward for the Aggies, who hold first place in the SEC and hope to hold onto it for the rest of the season, but face a gauntlet schedule to do so.

What does the rest of the conference landscape look like right now, as there are tons of schools that are trying to chase A&M down for first place? How many teams are projected in the NCAA Tournament, and does A&M have a solid position where it stands at the moment?

Conference Standings

Cinematic Saturday Afternoon 🏀#GigEm | #BuckyBall pic.twitter.com/LoILkDS25s
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) January 25, 2026

Right now, the Aggies sit in first place but have a brutal five-game stretch that will determine a ton as the season rolls along.

Behind A&M are No. 15 Arkansas, No. 19 Florida, and Kentucky, who all have five wins and two losses to start league play out. Then there are two more teams that fall in that upcoming stretch for A&M against Georgia and Missouri, who have 4-3 records, along with No. 18 Vanderbilt, followed by Auburn, which is also 4-3.

There is then a pair of 3-3 teams looking to get back into the race, including Tennessee and Alabama, who have been toward the top of the league in previous years. Following those two schools, it’s Texas and Ole Miss, sitting at 3-4 in the SEC, but with a few quality wins to stay in the conversation.

Two teams A&M beat, Mississippi State and South Carolina, are at 2-5 and looking for help and several wins to stay in contention for a better seed in the SEC Tournament and even maybe the NCAA Tournament. At the bottom of the basket are 1-6 LSU and Oklahoma, which A&M also secured wins over in the prior weeks.

NCAA Tournament Bids

There are plenty of experts to listen to about the projections on who should or shouldn’t be in the Field of 68.

If the season were to end today, there would be nine teams in the dance if anyone asked ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who gives weekly updates on who is safely in, the last four byes, the last four in, next four out and last four out before listing teams under consideration.

Of the nine teams Lunardi listed, the schools he believes are in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today are Auburn, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, A&M, Florida, Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky. Meanwhile, Texas and Missouri are in the bubble mix.

There is still plenty of basketball left to play, but the Aggies are in a prime position to make a run and build up their resume with solid wins in play. Looking in Quadrant 1, the Aggies are 2-3 with a 3-1 record in Quadrant 2. In Quadrants 3 and 4, the Aggies have yet to have a bad loss.

A&M is 4-0 in Quad 3 and has a 7-0 record in Quad 4.

Next up for the Aggies is a Quadrant 1 opportunity on the road against the Bulldogs. Tipoff on January 31 begins at 12 p.m. on the SEC Network.