COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M basketball‘s win over Texas wasn’t just for bragging rights.
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Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee (12) brings the rebound down during the second half of Lone Star Showdown, Jan. 17, 2026 at the Moody Center in Austin. Texas A&M won the game 74-70.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Not only did it give the Aggies their first win in Austin since 2002, but it was also just their second win against Texas in the last four meetings, dating back to 2019. The victory cooled off a Longhorns squad that had back-to-back wins against ranked teams. At 74 points allowed, it was the Aggies’ second-best defensive effort of SEC play.
“Texas doesn’t get three losses for that, we don’t get three wins,” A&M head coach Bucky McMillan said postgame. “So the most important thing we can do is just keep being the tight team we are to value getting the right shot for the right people and playing hard with the people next to you.”
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McMillan didn’t want to play up the rivalry, but the victory moves A&M to 5-4 against Quad 1 and 2 teams. The task gets no easier, as often is the case in an SEC with five ranked teams as of Tuesday. Here’s more on Wednesday’s game between A&M (14-4, 4-1 SEC) and Mississippi State (10-8, 2-3):
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‘He can beat you by himself’
Bulldogs’ leading scorer Josh Hubbard tops the SEC in scoring and is sixth in the nation, averaging 22.3 points per game. Hubbard has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, reaching 20 or more points 12 times and 30 or more three times.
“Hubbard’s been dominating the SEC the last couple of years,” Aggies guard Rylan Griffen said Tuesday. “He’s been an All-SEC player the last couple of years, so he’s definitely a tough task.”
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MORE AGGIES: How A&M basketball used a halftime adjustment to take down Texas
Josh Hubbard (12) of Mississippi State celebrates in the first half against LSU during the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament – First Round at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Griffen faced off against Hubbard twice during the 2023-24 season while playing for Alabama. Hubbard scored 14 points in the first meeting and seven in the second, for two of his least-productive games that season. At 6-foot-5, 181 pounds, Griffen may be tasked with guarding the shifty 6-foot guard.
“Hubbard’s a guy, when he gets in the game, it doesn’t matter who he got on his team, and it doesn’t matter who he’s playing; he can beat you by himself,” Griffen said.
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A&M hoping to hold Hubbard down
Mississippi State has lost its last three games, but Hubbard has continued to produce.
Against Kentucky, he scored 20 points, followed by 23 against Alabama and 13 against Ole Miss. Prior to the three-game skid, Hubbard scored 30 or more in back-to-back games, starting with 38 points in the overtime win against Texas and 30 versus Oklahoma in a 72-53 victory.
“(Mississippi State) could beat anybody in the country because they’re good enough on defense and they have (Josh Hubbard) that can just literally get going and score 45 points on you,” head coach Bucky McMillan said. “He’s a very good player, we know that. (Mississippi State beat A&M) in Starkville last year, pretty good, right? So, we know they’re capable. All the Aggies should know this is a very capable team.”
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Last season, Hubbard scored 24 against the Aggies on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, and 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range in a 70-54 Bulldogs win. He showcased both an ability to score near the rim and off the dribble.
He’s averaging 29 points per game on the road in conference play and 27.6 overall this season. Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall (32) is the only player A&M has allowed to score more than 30 points this season, and the Aggies won that game.
“I feel like the team is so well-rounded around him,” Rashaun Agee said. “A lot of them are looking to get him open on ball screens or pin downs. I feel like they just do a great job of figuring out ways to get him the ball, knowing that he’s their primary scorer.”
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Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.