A Texas A&M team is the dallas express Team of the Week for the second consecutive week.
The Aggies men’s basketball team is in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and has been on a hot streak over the past two weeks, approaching its potential at the start of the season.
A&M entered last week’s SEC tournament in Nashville as ESPN’s projected “first team out” of the 68-team March Madness field, but scored big wins over Ole Miss and Kentucky to reach the SEC semifinals and claim the title. No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
After following After an impressive 98-83 victory over Nebraska in the first round, which was never really a close game, the Aggies have won six of their last seven games and have a chance to reach the Sweet 16 in Dallas as they prepare to play. No. 1 seed Houston on Sunday night, a team A&M lost to 1-70 in December.
“It’s two Texas teams trying to play in Texas next week,” A&M head coach Buzz Williams said. he told the media on Saturday. “We’re just doing it in Memphis. Our group is somewhat used to playing in away game environments and I anticipate that will be the case tomorrow.”
Tyrece Radford, Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III were considered the team’s breakout players entering the season and have played well throughout, but second-year guard Manny Obaseki has really improved lately. Obaseki only averaged 6.7 points and 1.4 rebounds on the season and saw a huge decline in playing time throughout the year, yet he has scored in double figures in each of the last eight games since rejoining the starting lineup. , including 22 in the win over Nebraska. .
“He is very diligent and very consistent. “I know it’s not the sexiest thing to say, but I actually think part of why this turned out in his favor is how he handled failure,” Williams said of Obaseki. “He didn’t complain. He failed to comply and did not display his name in the transfer portal. …There is a level of respect that is increasingly difficult to find. Players know when they must be held accountable. Player to player, they know it, and he never backed down from any of it. He has changed our team because he has regained the rhythm, but actually I think he has changed because he was not trying to dodge it.”
Texas A&M looks to continue its NCAA tournament against No. 1 seed Houston in the South Region at 7:40 pm CT on Sunday. The winner will join Marquette and North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 in Dallas and will face either James Madison or Duke on Friday.
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