No. 13 Texas A&M looks to build on success after advancing to second round of NCAA Tournament
No. 13 Texas A&M looks to build on success after advancing to second round of NCAA Tournament
FILE - Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV (4) shoots over South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)
Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams speaks during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Cosby Jr., Tuscaloosa News)
FILE - Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV (4) shoots over South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)
FILE - Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV (4) shoots over South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)
Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams speaks during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Cosby Jr., Tuscaloosa News)
Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams speaks during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Cosby Jr., Tuscaloosa News)
Texas A&M Aggies (21-15, 9-9 SEC)
No. 13 Texas A&M returns much of its roster from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Coach Buzz Williams, who is entering his sixth season at the school, will look to take the Aggies to March Madness for a third straight season.
Players to watch
Wade Taylor IV (senior, G, 6-0, 19.1 ppg, 4.0 apg) Taylor is the only college player to score 500 points, have 100 assists and 60 steals in each of the last two seasons. Taylor was named preseason All-SEC First Team after leading the Aggies in points, assists and steals (1.8) last season.
Andersson Garcia (senior, F, 6-7, 6.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg) Garcia returns after leading the SEC in rebounding last year. The Dominican Republic native had 327 rebounds last season to break the school record of 317 which was set by Claude Riley in 1981-82.
Jace Carter (senior, G, 6-6, 6.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg) Carter is back for a second season at Texas A&M after playing two seasons at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He made 16 starts last season.
Departures and arrivals
The Aggies lost starter Tyrece Radford after he was second on the team with 16.5 points a game as a senior last year. They added three key players through transfers, including Zhuric Phelps, who led SMU last season by averaging 14.8 points a game. The Aggies also got Pharrel Payne, who led Minnesota with 1.4 block a game last year and C.J. Wilcher, who as Nebraska’s top scorer off the bench.
Top games
The Aggies open the season Nov. 4 at UCF before playing four straight home games. Texas A&M faces No. 15 Creighton on Nov. 27 in Las Vegas at the Players Era Impact Tournament and faces No. 14 Purdue in the 2024 Indy Classic Dec. 14.
Their rivalry with Texas will be renewed when they host the 19th-ranked Longhorns Jan. 4 and a week later No. 2 Alabama comes to College Station.
Facts and figures
Along with the three transfers, the Aggies added four high school players in Chris McDermott, Andre Mills, Janusz Ratowski and George Turkson Jr. … F Henry Coleman III returns after ranking third on the team by averaging 8.8 points a game last season. … F Solomon Washington is back after grabbing 5.7 rebounds and scoring 7.4 points a game last season.
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