ESPN lists Aggies as the “Team of the Week” after defeating Alabama on Saturday
It’s no surprise that the 18th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies have been receiving more coverage than usual after finishing out their 2022-2023 regular season with one of their top wins in program history against an Alabama team that could easily win the National Championship at season end based on pure talent alone.
After defeating the Crimson TIde 67-61 behind a career-high 28 points for sophomore point guard Wade Taylor IV, Head coach Buzz Williams was deservedly named Co-SEC Coach of the Year, while Taylor (1st Team) and senior guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford (2nd Team) made the All-SEC Team on as the only two Aggies two average double-digit scoring numbers this year.
Because of their unforgettable performance on Saturday afternoon, ESPN writer Jeff Borzello named Texas A&M the “Team of the Week”, summarizing their selection as well as anyone could for those who didn’t get to experience the rollercoaster journey that had many of us feeling every type of emotion during the entirety of their 31 game schedule.
On Dec. 20, Texas A&M looked like a massive disappointment. The Aggies were one of the last teams left out of the 2022 NCAA tournament, then made a run to the NIT championship game and were projected to take the next step. Yet two months into this season, they were just 6-5 overall and had just lost at home to Wofford — to go with a neutral-court loss to Murray State in November.
Since then, they’ve gone 17-3 overall, ripping off win after win after win in SEC play. The Aggies finished the regular season with victories in eight of their last nine to go 15-3 in SEC play, just one game back of Alabama. It’s been an incredible in-season turnaround by Buzz Williams. And it was capped over the weekend with a 67-61 victory over the Crimson Tide. A&M led by as many as 15 points in the first half, playing at its pace, keeping Alabama out of transition and forcing the Tide into difficult and early-possession 3-point shots. Alabama came all the way back to take the lead in the second half, but A&M went on another run to pull away down the stretch.
What a season it’s been so far for the Maroon and White, and with the SEC Tournament starting later this week, gaining even more momentum while potentially increasing their seeding for the NCAA Tournament is just another opportunity for a squad that hasn’t shied away from any challenge presented to them.
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