Texas A&M is heading back to the NCAA Tournament, punching its ticket to a second straight March Madness under Buzz Williams.

As an at-large recipient, the Aggies head to the South Region as a 9-seed. That sets up a potentially massive second-round showdown against 1-seed Houston, but the first matchup includes a showdown against 8-seed Nebraska from the Big Ten.

Overall, the South Region features a deep group of programs that includes Duke, Kentucky, Marquette and Florida alongside the top-seeded Cougars. ESPN Bet does not give the Aggies much of a chance to get out of the region at +5000 overall.

As for the matchup against the Huskers, Nebraska enters the week as a 1.5-point favorite with a point total for the game set at 146.5 points. Fans can track the latest odds for the NCAA Tournament with SDS’s sports betting apps.

Both teams are hungry for an NCAA Tournament win, and here are the key things to know for the Round of 64 showdown:

The elephant in the room

Does the selection committee have a sense of humor? It would appear so with Nebraska and Texas A&M set to face off in both men’s and women’s tournaments.

New Aggies athletic director Trev Alberts was quick to point out the matchup and the connection with the Huskers. He wasn’t the only one with fans hammering on the connection after the draw was revealed.

An alum of Nebraska and former football star for the Huskers, Alberts stunned his alma mater when he left to become the new AD at Texas A&M. It adds a layer of intrigue to an already exciting SEC vs. Big Ten opening round showdown.

Nebraska chasing history

Texas A&M is in search of its first NCAA Tournament win since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2018, but Nebraska’s fortunes in March Madness have been even worse.

The Huskers are back into the field for the first time since 2014. However, Nebraska has yet to win a game in the Big Dance.

Nebraska is 0-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, the worst mark among power conference teams as the only Power 6 team without an NCAA Tournament victory. Can the Aggies stand in the way of history, or will the Huskers get their historic win?

Nebraska lives with the deep ball

The Huskers enter the NCAA Tournament as a team that thrives (and dies) with the 3-pointer. Nebraska has 312 made 3-point field goals this season, the 22nd-best mark in the country, while also finishing 27th in the country for 3-pointers attempted (871).

Keisei Tominaga is particularly lethal and averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game and shoots 37% from deep. Tominaga leads Nebraska with 14.9 points per game and is 1 of 6 players on the roster to average at least 1 3-point field goal per game.

From that group of shooters, 5 of them shoot at least 34% from deep and 4 of them shoot 36% or better from range. Rienk Mast, a dynamic 6-foot-9 forward and the team’s leading rebounder, shoots 34% from range and can stretch the floor.

With that kind of prowess from deep, a team like Nebraska is always a threat to catch fire and down any team. However, it’s a two-edged sword of risk and reward.

In a Big Ten Tournament loss to Illinois, the Huskers built a double-digit lead before going cold in the second half. Nebraska ultimately finished that game 8-for-27 (29.6%) from deep as the Illini rallied for a 98-87 win.

If Texas A&M can lock down on the perimeter, it will pave the way to an early win for the Aggies.