Texas Basketball: A look at the bottom half of the Midwest Region
By Shane Black
Potential Round of 32 Matchups
No. 7 seed – Texas A&M Aggies (25-9, 17-4)
Despite finishing second in the SEC regular season and conference tournament, the Texas A&M Aggies were given a No. 7 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are into the Tournament for this first time under 4th-year head coach Buzz Williams and are a team brimming with confidence. A&M holds a 10-2 record since the start of February and has won over six NCAA Tournament teams in that span.
The Aggies are paced by their dynamic backcourt of Wade Taylor and Tyrece Radford. The duo averages 29.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists. Their bread and butter is offensive rebounding and getting to the line as a team. Texas A&M ranks sixth in the country in offensive rebound percentage (36.6%) and first in free throw attempts per game (25.3). If you can clear the glass and avoid foul trouble against the Aggies, they will have trouble putting the ball in the bucket.
No. 10 seed – Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13, 13-11)
Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry should feel confident about his team heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions have won eight of their last ten games and are coming off a run to the Big Ten Tournament title.
Penn State’s best wins of the season came over Indiana (twice), Northwestern (twice), Iowa, Maryland, and Illinois (twice). The Nittany Lions are 10-5 against NCAA Tournament teams, with five of those wins coming in the last ten days. Every team has a goal to peak in March, and Coach Shrewsberry’s team is certainly accomplishing that.
The Nittany Lions are led by senior combo-guard Jalen Pickett. A first-team All-Big Ten selection, Pickett averaged 18.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists this season. He is a complete player with a ridiculous basketball IQ who can score from anywhere on the floor. Seniors Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk supplement Pickett as 12+ PPG scorers.
Penn State is aggressive on the defensive end, finishing the regular season ranked 12th nationally in steal percentage. Their games can become sloppy, but this team thrives in chaos. Against a team like Texas, the Nittany Lions will look to muck it up and drag the Horns into the mud.
This is a very dangerous 10-seed.