'It's Win Or Go Home': Aggies Confident Heading Into Matchup Against Penn State

Texas A&M will have a chance to set the tone in the Midwest Region with a victory over Penn State Thursday evening in Des Moines.

Buzz Williams seems relaxed heading into his first NCAA Tournament with the Texas A&M Aggies. So do his players. Maybe that's because of the countless hours of film they've watched since flying back from Nashville on Sunday night.

Williams said that the Aggies have been glued to their tablets and screens, watching the strengths and weaknesses of Penn State. Around 3:30 a.m., the fourth-year Aggies coach received a text from All-SEC guard Wade Taylor IV asking about the Nittany Lions. 

It was the middle of the night and Williams needed to sleep. Still, he's appreciated his players' work ethic since losing to No. 1-seed Alabama in the SEC Championship. 

"The spirit between the players is as good as I've ever seen," Williams said Wednesday during the Aggies' press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. "They have worked incredibly hard to get to this point. They're thankful for the opportunity. They have very low egos. They care about one another and collectively, they just want to -- what do we need to do to keep playing? That's a lot of fun to be around."

The seventh-seeded Aggies must go through a gauntlet to escape Des Moines unscathed. While the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions might not possess the same amount of quality wins, they proved their worth in the Big Ten Tournament, rattling off wins over Illinois, Northwestern and Indiana to make it to the conference finals. 

It's hard for A&M fans to remain fixated on just the first round of the NCAA Tournament that takes place Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Arena. A win likely sets up a showdown at second-seeded Texas for a shot to play in Kansas City, Mo., in the Sweet 16. 

Taylor, who leads the Aggies with 16.7 points per game, knows that attention from fans will be on a potential matchup against the Longhorns. For A&M, it's about setting the tone against a Nittany Lions roster that's red hot at the right time. 

“We know when tournament time comes, it’s time to lay everything on the line, because it’s win or go home,” Taylor said. “We try to take every possession and every opportunity we have to shine and go 1-0 in that moment. We don’t want to look too far ahead, because we know that moment can impact (the outcome).”

A&M proved it's here to stay in the SEC with Williams at the helm. After starting the season off 6-5 with a pair of Quad IV losses to Murray State and Wofford, the Aggies rattled off 15 conference wins, including a pair over then-No. 11 Tennessee and the aforementioned Crimson Tide, who garnered the top seed in the entire tournament. 

Maybe Penn State has as well under second-year coach Micah Shrewsberry. The Nittany Lions won eight of their last 10 games behind the clutch shooting of Jalen Pickett. Eliminating big plays from the All-Big Ten guard will be essential for the Aggies on Thursday evening. 

“He’s an extraordinary player,” senior guard and defensive wiz Dexter Dennis said. “They’re comfortable with what they’re doing (offensively), which is extremely dangerous. To some, it may not look like much, but they pose a threat with their outside shot-making ability and Pickett is also a weapon when he gets in the mid-post area or just all around. He does a lot for their team." 

Pickett led the Nittany Lions in scoring (17.9 points per game), rebounds (7.3 per game), and assists (6.7 per game) as a second-team Associated Press All-American. Over his past six games, he's averaging 14.8 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field. 

Williams said that he can see similarities in both Pickett and Taylor, though the latter has taken roughly 100 fewer shots. 

“(Pickett) may be the most effective 6-foot-6 guard in the country,” Williams said. 

"He forces you to make decisions on how you’re going to guard him." 

This might be Williams' first time in the dance with the Aggies, but it's not his first rodeo on the road to the Final Four. He led Marquette to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2013. During his five seasons at Virginia Tech, he led the Hokies to three tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 bid in 2019. 

A&M might be known for its success on the court, but Williams is making a case that the Aggies can win outside of football. It starts on Thursday night, however. 

Any slip-up against Pickett and the Penn State offense could lead to a one-way ticket back to College Station. 

"We have a handful of guys that have played in the tournament that was able to talk to the rest of the team and prepared them for this moment," said Tyrece "Boots" Radford. "I think we're pretty much prepared.

Tip-off is set for 8:55 p.m. 

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