Texas A&M Basketball Loses to Ole Miss; Will Aggies Miss NCAA Tournament?

Texas A&M Basketball Drops Game Late to Ole Miss; Will Aggies Miss NCAA Tourney?

Texas A&M basketball is in a bad way. The Aggies seemed to be building some strong momentum after winning their previous two games against LSU and Missouri, and a hot start against the Ole Miss Rebels had some Aggie fans believing that things were beginning to really look up.

By halftime, though, that hot start was a distant memory, and the lead the Aggies had was replaced with a two-point deficit. As the second half rolled on, things went back and forth before Texas A&M basketball opened up a 7-point gap in the waning minutes. Ole Miss rose to the occasion, however; despite some late-game shot making by Wade Taylor that wowed the Reed crowd, the Aggies ended up falling to the Rebels by 3.

It's hard to know what to say about this one. Things just don't seem to be clicking for this team. The Aggies have opened conference play at 3-4, and while they have shown the ability to run with some top teams—namely, nearly knocking off Houston, dispatching SMU, and triumphing over Iowa State—they are still not consistent enough to rely on.

Their record is marred by home losses to LSU and Memphis, as well as a road loss at Arkansas. They currently sit at a 1-3 record in Quad 2 games, and have a Quad 3 loss sullying their resume as well (though that could shift upwards if LSU shows some improvement).

All this, and the toughest part of the conference schedule—two games vs. NET 3rd-ranked Tennessee and a game at 6th-ranked Alabama, with reprieves against Vanderbilt and Arkansas sandwiched between—has yet to hit. With where things stand currently in the win-loss column, for the Aggies' tournament hopes to stay afloat, they absolutely cannot go 0-3 in those games. It should go without saying that they need to win in Nashville and at home vs. the Hogs, as well.

Texas A&M basketball will have a shot at redemption vs. Ole Miss in Oxford, on the last game of the regular season. If previous Buzz teams are any guide, the Aggies will look better then than they do now. But I feel like I keep coming back to that refrain; the team will get better, because that's how every Buzz team has been.

But they keep putting out these duds. They play up to competition, and they play down to competition. Is it possible that this Texas A&M basketball team is different? We all said coming into the year that this was the most skilled and tournament ready team Buzz has had in his time in College Station. Could it be that previous years won't necessarily be a guide?

It's certainly possible, though I have no idea of exactly why that would be the case. Things like the absence of Marble haven't helped the team at all, but they do nothing to explain why this group is so up-and-down.

The fact of the matter is that Texas A&M basketball needs to string together some wins, and they need to do so in short order. They finish the homestand against the Florida Gators this upcoming Saturday before heading to Missouri later in the week. They'll return home for a huge showdown against the Volunteers the day before the Super Bowl, and then head to lowly Vanderbilt the following Tuesday.

If they go 4-0 in that stretch, I'll breathe a lot easier. But for now—all too similarly to my beloved Dallas Mavericks—I just don't feel like I can trust this team to take care of business.