Texas A&M Basketball: Aggies Kick off SEC Tournament Against Vanderbilt

With postseason aspirations, the Texas A&M basketball team will have one last chance to make a positive impression on the various selection committees.

It’s that time of year again, the men’s basketball postseason. There’s no month quite like March for basketball fans, and the Madness is just beginning. The regular season is over in SEC play, and the seeding has been decided. Before we begin, let’s see how the tournament will shape up.

Here is the automatically updating bracket.

Texas A&M vs Vanderbilt

March 9, 7:00 ET — Nashville, Tennessee — SEC Network

As the 10 seed, A&M has drawn their first game against Vanderbilt, the 7 seed. Vanderbilt took both regular season games, but the most recent contest was decided by five points. If the Aggies can play like they started against Kentucky, this would be no contest.

The Aggies fans, however, we are used to teams that start hot and fizzle towards the end of the game/season. Look for the team to play with a bit of confidence, and this young team will try and make a run rivaling last years’.

However, the smart money would be on the team making a quick and early exit. The youth on the squad shows with free throw struggles, turnovers, and mental errors. In addition, the lack of a true point guard hampers the team tremendously. To make matters worse, Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet is riding a hot streak and was recently selected as SEC Player of the Week.

The ultimate path to the championship would go through Florida and likely Arkansas. That’s a challenging combo before even getting to the championship game.

I think this is just a team that doesn’t quite have it. The young players will develop and mature, and the team will congeal more, but this year is not their year. A deep SEC tournament run would do wonders towards a bid to the Dance, but the NIT is best case scenario for this season. Hopefully players can learn from this year, and apply those lessons to next season.

What to Watch For

Tyler Davis and Robert Williams

Tyler Davis is going to do Tyler Davis things, it’s easier to accept that at this point. Robert Williams, meanwhile, is going to do his thing. The Aggies are going to have very good post play. The guards, on the other hand, are the largest question mark.

Guard Play

The backcourt is the group that struggles the most. With no consistent point guard play, there is a lot of reason for them to struggle, but this season has been a slog. If the guards step up and gel, this team will be good. They are the weakest link, but it’s only one missing piece away.

Youth

Look at the roster. It’s young. There’s only one senior, and the team is going to be pretty similar next year, with some new faces coming in. That’s great news, and this team can use every game to learn and grow. At this point, they’re playing for the experience, since there is very little chance of meaningful postseason.

Next: Grading the Aggies' Performance against Kentucky

A lot of the mistakes that are being made can (hopefully) be fixed by experience- turnovers, bad offensive possessions, defensive lapses, missed free throws, and streaky basketball. This may end up being a really good team next year, if the major players return.

***Stats from 12thman.com***