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Texas A&M made the second round of the NCAA Tournament despite having a pedestrian 21-15 record last season. The Aggies had an up-and-down season marred by heartbreaking losses to Arkansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida and Houston during the SEC regular season and the NCAA Tournament.
Buzz Williams heads to his sixth season as Texas A&M's coach, looking to make his third consecutive postseason tournament and possibly move past the second round of March Madness.
Here's a closer look into the Aggies' 2024-25 college basketball season, from its biggest games to the players to watch out for.
Texas A&M's biggest games of the 2024-25 season
Texas A&M opens the new season by visiting the UCF Knights on Nov. 4 at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
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This is the first-ever meeting between both teams on the hardcourt and the first part of the home-and-home series between Texas A&M and UCF. The Aggies will host the second matchup next year.
Texas A&M head to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival on Nov. 26-30. Other teams competing in the mini-tournament are Alabama, Houston, Creighton, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers and San Diego State.
The Aggies host Wake Forest in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 3. Both teams split their previous meetings, with Texas A&M winning the last encounter, 67-52.
The team then visits Texas Tech for the Coast to Coast Challenge at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Dec. 8. This will be the 125th meeting of both programs, with the Red Raiders holding a 64-60 edge in their head-to-head.
The biggest highlight of Texas A&M's nonconference slate is its Indy Classic matchup against 2024 NCAA Tournament runner-up Purdue. The Aggies look to even their all-time encounter against the Boilermakers, who lead the series 2-1.
Texas A&M will open their regular season schedule at home against perennial foe Texas. The Jan. 4 clash is the 135th meeting in history, with the Longhorns leading the rivalry, 78-56.
The Aggies will visit Texas on Jan. 25 as part of their SEC regular season schedule. They will also meet Oklahoma and LSU twice in a home-and-away setup.
They host Alabama, Arkansas, SEC regular-season champion Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and 2024 SEC tournament titlist Auburn. Texas A&M will visit Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi State, and Florida.
Top Texas A&M players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season
#1. Wade Taylor IV
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M's offense last season, averaging 19.1 points per game. The six-foot junior was also the Aggies' top passer and swiper, recording 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.
Taylor, however, needs to improve his field goal percentage as he only made 36.6% of his shots this past season. He needs to limit his turnovers (2.8 TOs per game) to be a more efficient player for Texas A&M.
#2. Andersson Garcia
Andersson Garcia was the team's top hustle player, grabbing 9.1 rebounds per contest last season. The six-foot-seven senior corralled 4.3 offensive rebounds to go along with his 4.8 boards on the defensive end.
Garcia also averaged 6.0 points per game on 55.2% shooting from the field. The fifth-year forward must assert himself to help Taylor on the offensive end.
#3. Zhuric Phelps
Zhuric Phelps was SMU's top scorer last season, averaging 14.8 points per game. The incoming senior transfers to Texas A&M to possibly fill in for Aggies' second-leading scorer Tyrece Radford, who had exhausted his college eligibility.
The 6-foot-5 Phelps also has a knack for swiping the ball from his opponents, averaging 2.1 steals in his last two seasons with SMU.
Predictions for Texas A&M's 2024-25 season
Texas A&M would be one of the dark horses in the SEC this coming season. Expect a more formidable lineup with some players from the 2023-24 season roster returning, including Wade Taylor IV and Andersson Garcia.
Barring any injuries or unfortunate incidents, Texas A&M could win 23 games and make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
Will Texas A&M make the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Let us know your views in the comments section.
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