Texas A&M Part of Unfortunate Trend in March Madness

Another game. Another injury report.

Luckily, the Texas A&M basketball program stayed healthy after the first-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament against Saint Mary’s, where head coach Bucky McMillan’s team won 63-50 in Oklahoma City.

As for Houston, the next opponent A&M will face in the Round of 32 is also in a similar situation, with few players on the latest injury report, which is going to make a tremendous difference when the contest takes place at Paycom Center.

For the Aggies, only one player has suffered a season-ending injury, and only two players are available for the Cougars at tipoff. Staying healthy and rested before the matchup everyone in the state has been waiting for is going to be vital, because if this game is anything like the last time the two schools met on the court, it’s going to be electric.

Texas A&M Joins Multiple Teams Dealing With Key Injury

Mackenzie Mgbako Texas A&M Aggies. — Nov 25, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) shoots over Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils forward Daniel Mayfield (22) during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

For the Maroon and White, they will be without their star forward, who came into the season expecting to be one of the top prospects in the NBA Draft but spent most of the season on the sidelines.

The Indiana transfer, Mackenzie Mgbako, had a foot injury he suffered in the previous season that carried over into the offseason, so he was unable to step on the floor until mid-November, when he played in only seven games before fracturing the foot and getting shut down for the remainder of the season.

Texas A&M isn't the only team that entered the tournament without a key player in the starting lineup.

Here are just a few of the others:

Texas Tech - JT Toppin

Louisville - Mikel Brown Jr.

BYU - Richie Saunders

North Carolina - Caleb Wilson

Gonzaga - Braden Huff

Duke - Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II

UCLA - Tyler Bilodeau

UConn - Silas Demary Jr., Jaylin Stewart

Injuries are a part of the game but it seems that an unfortunately high number of important names have been unable to play on the biggest stage this season due to no fault of their own.

In his few games, Mgbako averaged 10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, which made a difference. From the field, he was a great asset, where he was 39 percent from the field and was 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Before joining the Aggies, he was phenomenal with the Hoosiers, averaging 25 minutes in the 2023-24 season and 25.1 minutes per game the next season. In the first season there, he posted 12.2 points per game, and the next season, he did the exact same thing.

As for Houston, they are without guard Kordel Jefferson, who played in only three games this season. In those games he appeared in, he averaged 3.7 minutes, 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.3 assists. From the field, he was a 40 percent shooter. The three games he played in were Notre Dame, Oakland, and Lehigh, where he scored a total of 4 points.

Another player the Cougars will be without is the 6-foot-6 freshman guard Bryce Jackson, a native of Pearland, Texas.

Other than that, both squads are healthy in the latest update. Tipoff between A&M and Houston on Saturday, March 21, begins at 5:10 p.m on TNT.