Texas A&M smothers Saint Mary’s in first-round NCAA Tournament upset
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Texas A&M had a short stay in the SEC Tournament, and the Aggies want to make up for lost time in the NCAA Tournament.
After getting destroyed by Oklahoma last week in the second round of that SEC tourney in Nashville, Texas A&M got a second crack at things with a berth in the NCAA Tournament. On Thursday night in Oklahoma City, the 10th-seeded Aggies made the most of what the selection committee bestowed on them last Sunday, taking down No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s, 63-50, in a first-round South Region game.
Rashaun Agee led the charge into the Round of 32 with 22 points and 9 rebounds, and Ruben Dominguez added 11 points for Texas A&M (22-11), which will next face either No. 2 seed Houston or 15th-seeded Idaho in the second round on Saturday.
The Aggies controlled a first half that ended with them leading 37-26, and they took away any possible drama in the final 20 minutes, leading by 20 with 10 minutes left. Saint Mary’s (27-6), which is annually one of the powerhouses of the West Coast Conference, never got the deficit under 12 the rest of the way.
Pop Isaacs only scored 3 points all night for the Aggies, but it was his 3-pointer from the right wing that got Texas A&M rolling to start the second half.
The Aggies never looked back, despite Agee and Dominguez being their only players to score in double figures. Texas A&M got 19 key points from its bench on Thursday night, and the Aggies took care of the ball with just 10 turnovers while they squeezed the life out of the Gaels, forcing 18 Saint Mary’s turnovers.
Texas A&M also had 12 steals, as the Aggies held high-powered Saint Mary’s to a season-low point total. The Gaels led the nation in free-throw shooting at 80.5% coming into the NCAA Tournament but couldn’t even get that right on Thursday night, going just 4 of 11 from the line.
The Aggies held Saint Mary’s to just 38% shooting from the field. Joshua Dent led the Gaels with 18 points, while the rest of Saint Mary’s starters combining for just 13 points. Liam Campbell had 15 points off the bench for the Gaels in 28 minutes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the stellar defense that Texas A&M displayed all night.
Making matters harder for Saint Mary’s was leading scorer Paulius Murauskas being “under the weather” and not starting the game. He ended up playing 23 minutes off the bench and was held to 4 points on 1-of-6 shooting. He averages 18.8 points per game, so his health and performance played right into Texas A&M’s hands.
With Texas A&M still going strong into the Round of 32, the Aggies are 1 win away from heading to the Sweet 16. Here is what the Kalshi market is saying right now about the top teams in the mix to get to next week:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
