OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KBTX) – On the floor in the middle of Texas A&M’s locker room, a neatly arranged pile of maroon jerseys grew as each Aggie player summoned the courage to remove their uniforms.
To float their jerseys down onto the stack — lining up shoulders before walking away — was more than letting go of a piece of clothing. It meant putting a period on the seemingly unthinkable story that was the first year of Aggie basketball under Bucky McMillan.
A&M’s season drew to a close Saturday with the most lopsided loss in the program’s NCAA Tournament history, an 88-57 thumping by No. 2-seeded Houston at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Arena. It’s a fact that shouldn’t be more than a footnote in conversations about this edition of the Aggie basketball team.
That was the thought championed by McMillan in an impromptu secondary media availability for the Bryan-College Station press in the basement hallway of the Paycom Arena.
“This was under circumstances where we had a total rebuild of the roster,” he said. “So, when these guys come around, even though they didn’t get to the Final Four, we need to salute these players for what they did for this program. They didn’t have to come to Texas A&M. Think about recruiting to that. My first year at Texas A&M, they don’t know who they’re going to play with. They don’t know who’s going to be on the team. They didn’t know us and they came and laid it out on the line.”
In college football terms, this season was Week Zero for McMillan and his staff. For some college football programs, meaningful games are played on Week Zero, but most teams get a pass until the real season begins Week 1. After supplying proof of concept in Bucky Ball by making the NCAA Tournament, this year’s team gets a pass.
It’s an often-referenced mitigating circumstance, but McMillan was hired after the transfer portal window had opened. He signed on to a program that had one player on the roster — forward Chris McDermott, who was mostly accessory to former head coach Buzz Williams’ plans last season. Over the course of a month, McMillan added 14 players to simply give A&M enough warm bodies to field a team.
Even aided by the existence of the transfer portal, fielding a team competitive enough to make the NCAA Tournament field is impressive. After all, A&M as a program has only achieved that feat 17 other times.
Even the players who made up that ragtag roster were surprised at how quickly it came together.
“I loved this season,” an emotional Marcus Hill said after the game. “I love the guys that I was with. We were family. Usually, when you have so many new guys, you won’t be as close as what I thought we were going to be. We were real close. Always laughing and everything. I love them.”
However, catching that lightning in a bottle only goes so far. The Aggies (22-12) matched up Saturday with a Houston squad (30-6) that was simply more athletic.
That’s no knock on the Aggies. Bucky Ball prides itself on a relentless motor and athleticism to force teams into uncomfortable positions. Presses, traps and an up-tempo offense create turnovers and wear down teams that lack the same level of fitness.
This Cougar team has national-championship-level athleticism. When A&M attempted to pin Houston in the backcourt for a 10-second call, guard Emanuel Sharp simply turned on the afterburners and blew past A&M defenders. It was a speed A&M had not seen this season.
The Aggies found some success dribbling into the Cougar defense and dishing it back out to the perimeter, a staple of McMillan’s offense. But even when Houston was scrambling in rotation, they were able to close out on Aggie shots. That level of athleticism is one of the many reasons why Houston has the nation’s fourth-best defense, according to KenPom.com.
After early success from behind the 3-point line, Houston’s defense caught up to the Aggies, leading to an 18-0 Cougar run late in the first half. Throughout the second half, Houston’s lead never fell below 20 points.
As more proof of Houston’s athleticism, the Cougars dominated the offensive glass, 18-8, leading to 18 second-chance points.
Aggie guard Ruben Dominguez said Houston was, next to Arkansas, the most athletic team he’s faced this season.
“They’re very athletic and get every offensive rebound. It’s hard to play against them for sure.”
A&M guard Rylan Griffen had more NCAA Tournament memories than most college players before he ever pulled on an A&M jersey, making it to the Final Four with Alabama in 2024.
And yet, it was this season — a gimme season with a thrown-together roster — that Griffen said he would cherish more than the rest.
“This one hurt a little bit more,” he said, leaning over in front of his locker. “Even with the Final Four, this one hurt more, because of what we had to go through with a new coach and how hard it was and how everybody counted us out going into conference play. We had like a 20% chance to even be here. For us to be here and get a win — we ran into a good team that made shots today… This is, definitely my favorite team and my favorite run. Even though it ended a little bit earlier, it’s still my favorite.”
KBTX senior Texas A&M sportswriter Travis L. Brown can be reached at travis.brown@kbtx.com.
KBTX Senior Texas A&M Sportswriter(KBTX)
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