Texas A&M basketball was a massive underdog coming into this game against the Houston Cougars, and after trailing by nearly thirty at points during this game, we can only say that the spread apparently wasn't near big enough. Though fans knew a win was probably not in the cards for the Aggies, losing by the margin that they did was simply embarrassing.
Though Houston does have a better collection of talent overall than do the Aggies, this game boiled down to one thing: Texas A&M's complete lack of size. The Aggies were getting absolutely demolished on the boards, and Houston several times had not just second shot attempts— but fourth, fifth, and sixth shot attempts. This was the worry coming into the game, and it manifested in a big way as this game moved on.
The loss of Mackenzie Mgbako early on in the year has cost the Aggies in many ways on this front, but the simple fact is that, when things get this bad, it's more of a pride thing than anything else. Bucky McMillan has achieved a lot in year one, but the Aggies not only have to get taller over this upcoming offseason— they have to show better effort.
Texas A&M suffers undignified loss to Houston Cougars in March Madness thanks to an inability to rebound the basketball
By the end of the game, the rebounding disparity was massive. The Cougars edged out the Aggies in total rebounds by a 46-29 margin, but it was mostly thanks to what the Cougars did on the offensive end, where Houston held a 10-board margin.
McMillan, to his credit, tried all sorts of different lineups throughout the game to get the Aggies some juice, but nothing really ever worked. The Aggies have a bad habit of letting a bad situation get worse when things are not going their way on the boards, and that's what we saw happen here.
The promised return of Mgbako will help next season, as will getting a full offseason to fill out this roster. Bucky is definitely ahead of schedule, but the way things turned out in this game should be a flashing red light for Aggie fans going forward.