Texas A&M basketball’s roster consists of mostly new faces. It was bound to happen that the SEC would tell Texas A&M to prove their worth, and thanks to the first look at the SEC preseason standings, it looks like the Aggies already have a chip on their shoulder.
CBS’ article on the predicted standings say that Texas and Auburn are overrated, and that Arkansas is underrated. Again, it’s just preseason rankings, but CBS Sports writer Cameron Salerno has the Aggies as an underrated team in the conference.
Nonetheless, Texas A&M has to prove they are worthy of a March Madness spot, and it’s almost time to start the Bucky McMillan project with a chip on their shoulder already.
SEC predicted order of finish has Texas A&M at No. 13
Salerno adds that A&M went out to get McMillan, who’s a rising offensive guru in college basketball. The addition of Mackenzie Mgbako, Pop Isaacs and Rylan Griffen will be the headlines of the team, and according to McMillan, we should also be on the lookout for Rashaun Agee. McMillan mentioned at his hearing this week that he could become a first-round selection in 2026.
The team that everyone in the conference will be circling will be Florida. The Gators have something special going as defending champions, and they will be led by Thomas Hough, Alex Condon and Boogie Fland to try and go back-to-back. Oh, and they plan to unleash their 7-foot-9 Canadian giant named Olivier Rioux, who is the Guinness World Record holder for tallest teenager. Try stopping that.
Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas are going to be right there in the mix, too. Fans can agree that Texas A&M has a lot of work to do, and they aren’t going to be lighting up the court like these other schools mentioned above.
But if they were picked to be one of the 14 SEC schools by Joe Lunardi from earlier in the summer, they still should be considered for the tournament in what will be another deep SEC pool in the regular season.
It’s also possible that Bucky helps take the Ags by storm and put them on the national map. No one is expecting that, but the pieces are there to make for one of the more balanced teams out there. Bucky found much success in the portal, now, it’s time to put the pieces together and use it.