Aggie Basketball: Primed for success    

On Tuesday, March 4, Texas A&M men’s basketball made history after taking down the #1 ranked Auburn Tigers at Reed Arena in College Station. 

This marks the highest-ranked opponent to be defeated in the history of the basketball program. 

All in front of over 12,000 fans in the heart of Aggieland. 

It is no secret that we Texas A&M Aggies are obsessed with football. From the midnight yells to the war hymn, football runs through the veins of every part of our culture and identity. 

Despite this, the football team has consistently struggled to get over the hump, so to speak, leaving much of the enthusiasm unrequited. Hence the running joke of Texas 8-4, mocking the above-average end-of-season record the Aggies usually find themselves at. 

However, athletic excellence is not absent from Texas A&M; the ball just has a different shape.

Their win against Auburn breaks a 4-game losing skid and improves the team’s overall record to 21-9 on the year, with a date with another group of tigers in Baton Rouge this Saturday to close the regular season. 

With the beginning of the March Madness tournament right around the corner, what better time is there to build some football-level excitement for some of the other Aggie athletes? 

For those unfamiliar, March Madness is a massive 68-team single-elimination tournament that ends with a championship game for the whole of college basketball. 

The Aggies participated in this tournament last year and were handed a second-round defeat at the hands of the Houston Cougars in a five-point overtime loss. 

The culprit of their defeat was poor free throw shooting, missing numerous opportunities for free points in a close contest, an issue that has also resurfaced this season. This season is still quite a positive one overall; however, the Aggies are currently ranked #22 in the nation in a division of over 300 teams. 

This ranking has been earned thanks to key victories over Purdue, Missouri, T.U., and most recently Auburn. 

This will help our team out on March 16, which acts as Selection Sunday. On this day the 68 teams will learn of their place in the bracket and what their road to the national championship looks like. 

Regardless of what their path looks like, they will need to count on big performances from players like Wade Taylor IV, Zhuric Phelps, and Andersson Garcia. Particularly on the offensive side. 

For the team as a whole, ensuring they are taking proper advantage of their free throw opportunities will be important to prevent a repeat of last year. They will also need to ensure rebound proficiency to control the game and ensure they possess the ball as long as possible, which is what made the difference in the game against Auburn. 

Despite some of the team's struggles this season and in the past, there is much to look forward to late this month, and the Aggies have everything they need to make an impressive run.

All fans have to do is give them the time of day and pour their maroon hearts out just as they would at Kyle Field.