Texas A&M basketball included in ESPN's Dick Vitale's preseason Sweet 16

Texas A&M basketball makes Dick Vitale’s preseason Sweet 16

After an extremely up and down year in 2023-2024, Buzz Williams’s Texas A&M basketball squad is looking to bounce back with more consistency in the upcoming year. Given the talent they bring back, it could be a banner season for the Aggies.

Accordingly, they are high up in several preseason rankings. One of these is the preseason top 16 team put out by college basketball legend Dick Vitale, where the Aggies come in at 14th.

Dickie V has the Aggies as the fourth-ranked SEC team, behind Alabama (2nd), Auburn (10th), and Arkansas (13th). Kentucky is right behind the Aggies at 15th to make five total SEC teams in this ranking.

This shows how much of a gauntlet the SEC is going to be this season. Five teams in the top sixteen, and pretty much every one is deserved—though it could be argued that the Wildcats are making it in based off of reputation more than anything else. Kentucky lost a lot of talent when Calipari jumped ship, and the jury is still out on his replacement.

I think 14th is a respectable starting spot for the Aggies this year. The talent they brought back is nothing if not proven, but given the roller coaster nature of the last few Buzz teams, the national types will likely approach the Aggies with caution this year.

Interestingly, neither of the new entries to the SEC make this list. Even though they’re coming from a great basketball conference in the Big 12, it looks like things won’t be easing up any time soon for Texas and OU. The SEC has really leveled up in the last few years in the basketball side of things, and are now a deeper conference than ever before.

If the Aggies can effectively replace Boots Radford, they can make a real run this year. Their ceiling is as high as any team in the country—but every journey begins with one step.