Reacting to Texas A&M basketball dismantling Nebraska: Williams saves his job

Texas A&M basketball blows Nebraska out of the water; Buzz Williams saves his job, has huge test on deck

What a statement by Texas A&M basketball. What a statement by Buzz Williams.

Look, Buzz obviously had a lot to prove coming into this game. I don't think this was a game for his job in the sense that he would be fired if they lost, but I certainly think he would have entered the following season on a much hotter seat had the Aggies finished the season with back-to-back losses once again.

But to come out and match the energy that Nebraska had and outlast them like that? That's an impressive feat.

For all the talk of A&M "stealing" Nebraska's athletic director, Trev Alberts, it felt kind of like Nebraska was the team coming into this matchup motivated. The Aggies had kind of proven a point with their late-season run, and Nebraska had never won a tournament game. Add in the AD storyline, and this felt like a perfect game for the Huskers to get some revenge en route to capping off a great season.

Instead, what we saw was a team that traded blows with the Huskers and kept punching once Big Red expected them to fall. By that point, it was the Nebraska team and fanbase that was stunned. The hot shooting from Wade, Boots, and Manny wasn't going away. The Huskers were getting beaten on the boards by the Aggies and committing key turnovers against the A&M defensive pressure.

Solomon Washington contained Keisei Tominaga, who was set up to be a tournament darling had he been able to show out. Against the physical, dominant play of Washington, though, he could only hope for makes on heavily-contested looks—some of which he indeed got!

I don't think there's any question now that Buzz will be back, and back with quite the measure of momentum, next year. That's regardless of what happens next game, though it presents quite the challenge for the Aggies. As I write this, Houston is dominating a hapless 16 seed late in the first half, and seem to be headed for a rematch with the Aggies.

If Texas A&M basketball wins that one? All bets are off.