Ahead of Selection Sunday, the Aggies are situated well in both the NET and KenPom Rankings
Texas A&M (25-8, 15-3 SEC) still has work to do before Selection Sunday, as the Aggies will face Alabama (28-5, 16-2 SEC) in the SEC Championship game that afternoon, hoping that a second victory against the presumed 1-seeded Crimson Tide could slightly increase their seed line just hours before their names are called.
Ahead of the game, Texas A&M sits very comfortably in the Top 20 in both the NET (20th) and KenPom rankings (19th), and while a win in the championship game would further boost their value in both metrics, it probably wouldn’t be too substantial.
Referring back to an article I wrote last week, Nothing the Aggies do, outside of winning the SEC Championship game will increase their seeding in the tournament, especially if Joe Lunardi has anything to say about it, currently projecting Texas A&M as a 5-seed as of Saturday. After defeating Vanderbilt 87-75 in their Semifinal matchup, the win only technically counts as a Quad 2 victory, which is essentially worthless in increasing their seeding. Yes, I’m getting to the point.
What matters most is how well the Selection Committee views Texas A&M’s accomplishments this season, especially their historic turnaround from 6-5 to 25-8, all happening during the regular season, aside from their last two wins in the SEC Tournament.
Going back to last season, it was apparent that A&M’s 8-game losing streak in SEC play was so poisonous in the Committee’s mind that four Quad 1 wins in the SEC Tournament including an appearance in the title game were still not enough, so if we’re living in reality, here’s how things should play out: Beat Alabama, 4-seed. Lose to Alabama, 5, 6, or possibly a 7-seed. Yes, it’s that wide open. Gig ‘Em, and BTHO Alabama.
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