The Texas A&M Aggies learned their fate on Selection Sunday. They will be the No. 10 seed facing off against Saint Mary's.
The Gaels have been led by Randy Bennett, one of the more underrated coaches in the nation, and have gotten guys to the NBA, like Patty Mills, Jock Landale, and Matthew Dellavedova. He's coached Saint Mary's since 2001, and usually faces off against Gonzaga in their conference tournament final, but missed an opportunity to do that this year.
One writer from Barstool Sports says that he sees Texas A&M getting out of the first round. Not only that, but Liam Blutman is predicting that A&M will get to the second weekend of action, beating a national championship contender.
Could Texas A&M make it to the Sweet 16 and pull off an upset against Houston?
Admitting I like the idea of A&M beating Houston R32
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) March 15, 2026
Could this be the year the Aggies get over the hump to go to the Sweet 16?
Texas A&M almost had Houston's number in the Round of 32 in 2024, where the Aggies forced Houston into overtime, but ended up losing. The Aggies reached the Round of 32 last year but fell to Michigan.
Saint Mary's is a heavy rebounding team, largely anchored by 7-foot-2 big man Andrew McKeever, who averages 9.2 rebounds per game. Getting past them won't be easy, and they also have some big-time shooters in Joshua Dent and Mikey Lewis.
Assuming A&M does beat Saint Mary's, the thing that falls into Texas A&M's favor is that Houston isn't as great defensively as it was before. Offensively, they look better than in previous years, so it could set up for a shootout between Bucky McMillan and Kelvin Sampson's squads, respectively.
It's not impossible, but we shouldn't take Saint Mary's for granted. They have been college basketball relevant since the beginning of the century, and that's not any different this year.
To advance in March Madness, you have to have your best players, and without Mackenzie Mgbako in the tournament, the Aggies already have a lot on their plate this season.