What the Triple-Overtime Win vs. LSU Really Shows About Texas A&M

A long, three-overtime win revealed to Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan something critical for the rest of the season

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan looks on against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies concluded their regular season play, finishing with a better record than initially believed before the season. However, there is still plenty of work to do, with the conference tournament and potentially the NCAA Tournament ahead.

For their regular season, though, they concluded with a three-overtime victory against the LSU Tigers 94-91, a back-and-forth battle that pushed both teams to the absolute limit as much as they could handle in the contest.

However, Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan learned something really important about his team after they showed him exactly how much they are willing to fight through and persevere when things get tough.

That Will Stay with Them the Rest of Their Lives

Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee (12) reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Reed Arena. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Aggies took a late lead against the Tigers with 1:28 to play, finding themselves ahead 7068, but after the Tigers scored to tie the game, the Aggies were unable to find a basket in the final 88 seconds. In the first overtime, the Tigers scored with six seconds remaining to send it to the second overtime of the night, and did the same with 12 seconds left in the second overtime.

"Man, I don't even know some of the things we do out there sometimes," McMillan said of their win over the Tigers. "But I will say this, I told our players, that game was won with a lot of heart. We're fighting, we know what we're fighting for here. I told them in spite of it all, some execution could have been better.... but that is a story right there where you had to persevere."

It took until the third overtime before the Aggies were able to hold on to their lead, but even then, they found themselves trailing with 42 seconds remaining. Aggies forward Rashaun Agee was able to make the layup and the free-throw after being fouled, to give them their final lead of the game.

"In some spots this season, we allowed a call to allow us to lose our focus," McMillan said on the Aggies post-game radio show. "I felt that we could have allowed the fatigue to do that, and I really thought the leadership of Rashaun [Agee] and Ryaln [Griffin} in that game was unbelievable."

After a long, grueling game that saw three players play over 40 minutes, and after a long, grueling season playing in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, the Aggies never gave up despite things not going their way. To McMillan, that spoke volumes about his team and the program's direction as they prepare for postseason play and look to shock even more people than they have already.