Did NCAA Tournament Committee Sabotage Texas A&M's Seeding?
The Texas A&M Aggies will hit the court again for at least one more game this season, taking on Penn State in the first round of the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the Midwest region.
After a disastrous start to their non-conference schedule, the Aggies found themselves against the wall, needing every win to build their resume strong enough for the Big Dance.
And ESPN's Joe Lunardi followed along every step of the way.
For a decent stretch of the Aggies' SEC run — even when they were winning consistent games — Lunardi was not sold on coach Buzz Williams' squad, as they were placed on the bubble in his bracket projections and remained there until late in conference play.
But Texas A&M only continued to win and found itself as a projected No. 5 seed by Lunardi a few days before its loss to Alabama in the SEC tournament final.
Though Lunardi did not penalize the Aggies for their loss, the selection committee seemingly did, putting them at a No. 7 seed — much to the program's dismay.
But what was the committee against the Aggies earning a higher seed?
Lunardi has a theory.
"The committee did 7-seed Texas A&M no favors," Lunardi said. "The Aggies were clearly a line or two better than that. Then again, we said last year that A&M's public temper tantrum over its exclusion from the field was a very bad idea. Committee members are human, after all, perhaps with long memories."
Last season, when they were left out of the NCAA tournament following a second-place finish at the SEC tournament.
After accepting its bid to play in the NIT, the Aggies blew out Alcorn State in their first game, and Williams made a strong statement aimed at the selection committee.
In his statement, Williams stated that the entire selection process was "flawed" and that he believed what had transpired was "wrong" on multiple levels.
Still, the Aggies did not receive any empathy from committee members, and now a year later, their placement in the NCAA tournament raised an eyebrow for many fans.
And if the Aggies want to make a statement that the committee got it wrong, they will have to outplay any opponent in their way, regardless of seeding.
Tipoff from Wells Fargo Arena as the No. 7 seeded Aggies take on the No. 10 seeded Penn State Nittany Lions is slated for 8:55 p.m. on Thursday,
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