NCAA Bound? Texas A&M Reaches SEC Title Game

Aggies clinch NCAA Tournament automatic berth with victory Sunday

Texas A&M is one victory away from taking its NCAA Tournament hopes out of anyone else’s hands.

The Aggies continued their improbable run through the SEC Tournament by routing No. 15 Arkansas 82-64 Saturday afternoon to advance to the championship game. Texas A&M (23-11) will face No. 9 Tennessee, which beat Kentucky 69-62, on Sunday for the SEC title.

Another win clinches the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, taking the Aggies’ fate out of the committee’s control.

Texas A&M, which is on a seven-game win streak, has never won the SEC Tournament. The regular season-champion Aggies reached the finals in 2016, losing to Kentucky.

Quenton Jackson scored a team-high 20 to lead another balanced effort. Texas A&M led the semifinal from wire-to-wire, following a script similar to wins over Florida and No. 4 Auburn to open tourney play.

Hassan Diarra scored 12 off the bench, Tyrece Radford added 11 points and Henry Coleman III had 10 points. Hayden Hefner (nine points) made several key plays in the second half, as the Aggies held off a desperate push by the Razorbacks.

Texas A&M shot 50.8 percent for the game, including 53.3 percent (8-15) on 3-point tries. The Aggies outrebounded Arkansas 38-25.

The Hogs (25-8) were limited to 43.4-percent shooting and made only 3-18 from beyond the arc. Stanley Umude led Arkansas with 20 points.

The eighth-seeded Aggies have knocked off ninth-seeded Florida, top-seeded Auburn and fourth-seeded Arkansas in succession. Despite that run, many pundits have Texas A&M on the outside of the NCAA Tournament.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Saturday that the Aggies “deserve” to be in. They will be with just one more win.