Why Texas A&M needs more than a win over Kentucky to secure an NCAA Tournament bid

It’s crunch time for Texas A&M, much like all the other bubble teams, as we are just over two days out from Selection Sunday. The Aggies did handle that pressure well in their first game in the SEC Tournament last night. However, they may still need more if they hope to not leave their postseason fate to someone else.

On3’s James Fletcher III assessed Texas A&M’s position heading into the weekend during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Friday. He knows it’s an unbearable spot for those in College Station to be in considering how this scenario has gone in the past.

“Yeah, I don’t think Texas A&M fans are going to feel comfortable, regardless of the outcome this weekend, unless, like you said, they get that automatic bid where the committee cannot leave them out of the field,” said Fletcher.

Texas A&M held off elimination with an 80-71 win over Ole Miss last night in the second round of the conference tournament. It was a win-or-else scenario for them in Nashville but they answered the call to win their fourth straight. That came after they had lost five consecutively coming down the stretch of league play.

Now, with that victory, they advance to play Kentucky, a team they beat in the regular season, tonight in Nashville.

The game will be for a spot in the semifinals while also holding a ton of weight for Texas A&M. It could be the kind of win that could get them across the finish line for March Madness. It still may also not be enough, though, considering the rest of their body of work.

“If you’re Texas A&M? Yes, a win over Kentucky is huge for your resumé,” said Fletcher. “You’re right there with comparable numbers to these other teams. So you would feel like a Quad I win on a neutral floor against a team like Kentucky? With that prestige, with, like we’ve talked about before, a surging Kentucky team? That’s important to the committee as well. That win would be massive for their resumé.

“However, they’ve still got to shake all of those bad losses, those Quad III and IV losses that they have on their resumé,” Fletcher added. “They’ve got, already, more Quad I wins than anyone else in this bubble conversation. But it’s those losses in the bottom half that are killing them right now, that are dragging them into this conversation.”

No one on the bubble feels safe until the last moment when listening for their name in the bracket reveal. That’s why, regardless of what happens tonight, the Aggies are going to be sweating it out.

Still, at this point, all that Texas A&M can do now is put their best on the floor, advance as far as they can, and then let things shake out how they will come the end of the weekend.

“Now, if they get, like, one or two more, they get into that Sunday conversation? I think then you can probably consider them a little bit safer,” Fletcher said. “But, until they can do that? I think you’ve got to still wonder how much is the committee going to ding them for those bad losses.”