The last time Texas A&M played in Oklahoma City during March Madness, chaos ensued.
The Aggies were down 12 to Northern Iowa in the Round of 32 with less than a minute to go. Thanks to forcing turnovers and some made threes, the Aggies were somehow, someway able to force overtime and eventually win.
Bucky McMillan recalled that memory thanks to the help of assistant coach Mitch Cole. With McMillan always emphasizing press defense, he later realized it was one of the biggest coincidences no one saw coming.
Bucky McMillan remembers Texas A&M's historic March Madness comeback vs Northern Iowa
While McMillan coached high school in Mountain Brook, Alabama, he remembers texting assistant coach Mitch Cole after the Aggies came back against Northern Iowa. The same press he used while playing in college was the same press he uses today, and the same press that helped A&M beat Northern Iowa in OKC.
Bucky McMillan remembered where he was in 2016, watching Texas A&M erase a 12-point deficit in 44 seconds against UNI in the NCAA second round.
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A press he learned as a player - and used by this year's team - helped that A&M squad in OKC.
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"I was watching it live when it happened, and I texted Mitch Cole...and I said man, that is unbelievable. Crazy. Our press is kind of based on this guy that I played for in college, and we called it 140s. The press they ran to get back in the game was our 140 press. It's kind of unique in how it's described."Bucky McMillan
The rest is history. It was arguably the best last-minute comeback in March Madness, and no one has been able to pull anything off ever since. The press defense is one thing, but you also had to force turnovers and make three-pointers to pull it off, too.
For Northern Iowa, they were a great team that season, and ended up winning on a half-court heave to beat Texas in the Round of 64. It would've been something for Northern Iowa to beat both of the major Texas schools in one weekend, but it took a Herculean last gasp effort from A&M in the last minute of the game.
The Aggies will have to be a lot better than what they were against Oklahoma, when they couldn't buy a bucket to save their lives in the first half. They will have to force Saint Mary's into some uncomfortable situations and shoot the ball better.
Hopefully, the Ags won't have to play the role in another major comeback, but they have the personnel if they have to press when they're down.