Texas A&M basketball has all but secured their place in the NCAA Tournament in Bucky McMillan's first season as head coach, something that no one predicted coming into the year. It was shaky at times for the Ags down the stretch, but the win over Kentucky at home sealed A&M's tourney status.
Where there's an NCAA Selection Committee involved, though, you can bet that the Aggies will be given the short end of the stick in some form or fashion. If the latest bracketology from ESPN is to be trusted, then we're about to see that happen again this March Madness.
Texas A&M basketball is given another raw deal with latest bracketology prediction
The most recent bracketology from ESPN's Joe Lunardi is not what Aggie fans wanted to see at all. Texas A&M will most likely be a ten-seed in the opening round, which A&M fans have made peace with, but the seven and two-seeds in the Aggies' region are where most fans' eyes are.
A matchup with UCLA would be a huge positive for the Ags, as they are a relatively weak seven-seed, and that's where the Ags were predicted last night. However, this morning, that has changed, as A&M is now predicted to face off with Utah State in the opening round.
Despite coming from a Group of 5 conference, Utah State is no joke— they are the highest-ranked 7-seed in the NET Rankings at 26th overall. For comparison, UCLA is at 31st and Miami (another seven-seed) is at 32nd.
The Aggies, if they were to beat Utah State, would then face off with Houston, the highest-ranked two-seed! That's the two best teams of their seed line that the Ags would be playing in the first two rounds— in other words, the toughest road for a ten-seed in the entire bracket.
That's what Texas A&M got during the College Football Playoff, of course, so we shouldn't be surprised if such a trial is given to them again. With nothing set in stone right now, though, we can hope that the Aggies are given a better deal than what is being projected.