Should Aggies be in NCAA Tourney? Buzz: ‘I don’t know’

Texas A&M's NCAA Tournament fate is in hands of selection committee

Don’t ask Buzz Williams about the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament chances. The Texas A&M coach also is a loss for what it means to be on the committee that decides the at-large bids to the 68-team tourney.

“I try not to partake in conversations that I don’t understand the whole process,” Williams said following the Aggies’ 65-50 loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament finals. “Like I understand there’s a committee, and so my question at the foundation is how do you get invited to the committee?”

If the third-year A&M skipper was part of that deciding body, does he think the Aggies have done enough to join March Madness?

“I don’t know, to be honest,” Williams said. “I don’t know is it good enough? Should it happen? I do think this numerically is the best league. Maybe it’s 1B numerically.”

Aaron Cash

Tyrece Radford

Ethan Henderson, Manny Obaseki, and Hassan Diarra

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes didn't even wait to take a question in his postgame press conference before addressing the Aggies' body of work.

“My first thought is that Texas A&M should be in the NCAA Tournament,” Barnes said. “I think that the job that Coach Williams and his staff did through this tournament, I felt all year that the SEC was the best basketball league in the country. And for them to do what they did over four days was really remarkable. Again, they deserve to be in the tournament.”

Texas A&M (23-12) knocked off two ranked teams in the SEC Tournament (No. 4 Auburn and No. 15 Arkansas) and a third (No. 25 Alabama) during a seven-game winning streak that was snapped by the No. 9 Volunteers.

The Aggies weren’t even considered a bubble team entering the tournament in Tampa. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said A&M “deserve” to be in after his Tigers fell Thursday. Several national pundits had the Aggies punching their ticket after upsetting Arkansas, regardless of what happened in Sunday’s championship game.

Still, the Aggies are at the mercy of committee and won’t know their fate until the Selection Show, which starts at 5 p.m.

“I do study the numbers,” Williams continued. “I’m slightly more intelligent maybe than I come across. I know what the numbers are, and I do think that how the last three-and-a-half weeks have transpired for us I would think for sure has to help our résumé. Is it good enough? I don’t know.”

Tyrece Radford

Manny Obaseki

Tyrece Radford

The Aggies are prepared for whatever the selection committee decides.

“To play in the greatest tournament in the country is something that every kid dreams of, shooting in the driveway and stuff,” said Henry Coleman III, an All-SEC Tournament selection along with teammate Quenton Jackson.

“It would be a blessing for us to be in that tournament, but I think even we’re not, we’ll handle it in the right way. There’s a lot of love on this team. I care a lot for these guys, so we’ll handle it the right way.”