Life comes at you fast in the world of high-major college basketball. One minute you’re alone atop the SEC standings and the next you’re suddenly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. This is the situation Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC) finds itself in as it plays at No. 19 Vanderbilt on Saturday.The Aggies are on a three-game slide that includes losses against Alabama and Missouri that came by a combined four points. Looking at those results, you can easily play the “what if” game with Texas A&M. What if it hadn’t been forced to play at Alabama during Charles Bediako’s five-game stint back with the Crimson Tide? Could playing Bama without Bediako could have tipped the scales in A&M’s favor during what turned out to be a 100-97 loss?What if the ending of an 87-82 double-overtime loss at Tennessee had gone just a little bit differently? A road win over Tennessee or Alabama would have given A&M a ton of resume fortification. The maddening part is that A&M is good enough that it could have won those games. Their fast-paced, high-pressure, 3-point oriented style under first-year coach Bucky McMillan is working, and it has the Aggies averaging out around 30th overall nationally in the predictive analytics used by the selection committee.Where A&M is now lacking is in the resume metrics that are often used along the tournament’s cut line. With a profile in the mid-to-high 40s there, A&M needs to start adding to the win column as it seeks to recover from a lackluster nonconference performance. “Buckyball” wasn’t yet a well-oiled machine in early November, and A&M didn’t get any significant resume-padding done before league play began.
As a result, it’s getting a little close for comfort at Texas A&M. Here’s the breakdown of this weekend’s games involving bubble teams including a “double bubble” showdown between TCU and Oklahoma State with both teams vying for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.Check out the CBS Sports Bracketology model’s latest bracket at the Bracketology hub All times ET Bubble teams in action this weekend
CalEntering the weekend: Next Four…
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2026-02-14 05:37:22
