Texas A&M basketball fans clearly have something to look forward to after scoring 98 points in their season opener against Northwestern State. Sure, Northwestern State is no perennial power, but the Aggies put up 56 points in the first half, something Buzz Williams rarely did in his time in Aggieland.
Welcome to a new brand of basketball:
— Luke Evangelist (@lukeevangelist_) November 4, 2025
In the Buzz Williams era, the Aggies only scored 50+ points in the first half 3 times, the most was 53.
Bucky McMillan’s team just put up 56 in his first half as Texas A&M’s head coach.
A&M had just 61 points in the season opener last year pic.twitter.com/Hjyp60f9Zo
Texas A&M fans are already gearing up for "Bucky Ball." It's playing the game fast and putting pressure on the ball handler. Mackenzie Mgbako, arguably the Aggies' best player, didn't even play last night. Their Spanish deadeye shooter, Ruben Dominguez, lit up the scoreboard with 18 points, and the offense looked like a balanced attack.
We still have to wait and see what SEC play looks like for the Aggies, but they're already making magic. Best of all, the Aggies' former coach looks like a complete afterthought.
Bucky McMillan's debut is already making fans completely forget Buzz Williams
Buzz didn't really end his time in College Station all that well, and he admitted to recruiting players to Maryland while still under contract with Texas A&M. This set fans off the wrong way, and at that point, they couldn't wait for the Bucky era to start at Texas A&M.
The Buzz era came with ups and downs. The pro was making Texas A&M basketball look relevant for a long time. The tough style that Williams brought to Texas A&M made the big men look like rebounding machines every night. The downside was that the players would eventually grow tired of having to hustle like that every night, making for early exits.
McMillan's style of basketball is fun, and it already has fans filling up the bleachers.
First home game attendance under the last five Texas A&M head coaches:
— Luke Evangelist (@lukeevangelist_) November 4, 2025
Bucky McMillan (‘25 vs NWST) - 7,517
Buzz Williams (‘19 vs NWST) - 5,751
Billy Kennedy (‘10 vs Alcorn St) - 7,010
Mark Turgeon (‘07 vs McNeese) - 9,276
Billy Gillispie (‘04 vs NC A&T) - 6,929 pic.twitter.com/1pgNVWqLIC
Only Mark Turgeon in 2004 had more attendance out of the last five head coaches' debuts. But that was 21 years ago. This is a new generation of Texas A&M basketball, and they respect McMillan for who he is.
A balanced offense that runs fast is going to have eyes glued to the court. Texas A&M could easily be a sleeper team in the SEC this year, and they still have Mgbako to look forward to whenever he gets back.