Texas A&M basketball overcomes adversity to stretch win streak to four games

Texas A&M basketball staves off Rebel comeback; will face Kentucky in next round of SEC Tournament

It was not a seamless win by any stretch of the imagination, but any win was good enough to get Texas A&M basketball to the next round of the SEC Tournament. Things were close for a half, but the Aggies looked to be pulling away in the second period. That is, before the Rebels cut the deficit to three!

As it turns out, three was as close as it would get. Some clutch free throw shooting near the end of the game kept the Aggies afloat as the Rebels scratched and clawed, eventually lifting the Maroon and White to a 80-71 win, as well as a date with the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Aggies had five guys in double digits, with Wildens Leveque as the only starter who scored fewre than 10. Andersson Garcia, who notched 31 minutes to Leveque's 4, poured in 11 to go with his 14 rebounds. Solomon Washington, though he fouled out at the end of the game, scored 13 on 50% shooting: yet another sign of his improved offensive capability. It should be no surprise, though, that the Aggies were led by Wade Taylor with 20.

Midway through the game, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi tweeted that, due to results from around the country, the Aggies were no longer on the wrong side of the bubble, where they had started the night. This result will only bolster Texas A&M basketball's case to make it in.

What would make it essentially ironclad at this juncture is a win in the upcoming round, versus Big Blue. The Aggies have already knocked off the Wildcats once, of course, in an OT thriller. For as poor as the referees were in that one, the Aggies had a convincing win there. Let's see if they can repeat that performance in tomorrow's contest.