There was a five-game winning streak, a five-game losing streak and another five-game winning streak after the skid.
It was a basketball season of ups and downs for Texas A&M.
The Aggies knocked off Kentucky (twice) but lost to Vanderbilt and Arkansas — twice.
They demolished Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament but were demoralized at home by LSU.
They needed a late run to get in March Madness, then almost rallied their way into the Sweet 16.
Here’s a last look back at some of the best and worst moments and performances of the Aggies’ 2023-24 season:
Best win: The Aggies went into the Southeastern Conference Tournament on the bubble for March Madness. Any concerns the Aggies would get into the NCAA Tournament was considerably eased in a 97-87 victory over Kentucky. Wade Taylor IV scored 32 points, and Tyrece Radford had 23. It was the Aggies’ first SEC Tournament win over Kentucky and their second win over the Wildcats of the season.
Worst loss: OK, so LSU wasn’t as bad as projected. Still, the Tigers were merely average. But they came into Reed Arena on Jan. 6 and dealt the Aggies a stunning 68-53 loss. Even more stunning, A&M held a 32-30 halftime lead. The Aggies, who were outscored 38-21 in a lackluster second half, shot just 25.4 percent from the field.
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Obaseki scored 22 points, including a trio of triples, in the win over Nebraska
Best 3-point performance: For most of the season, the Aggies were among the nation’s most inaccurate 3-point shooting teams. That changed during a late five-game winning streak and peaked in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies converted 13 of 23 attempts behind the arc for a sterling 56.5 percent in blasting Nebraska 98-83. Taylor hit seven of 10. Manny Obaseki hit three of five. Solomon Washington, Radford and Jace Carter all added one. Actually, the Aggies hit more (14) in an early victory over DePaul, but they attempted 31. Also, DePaul was deplorable. Nebraska was good.
Best defensive effort: Tennessee finished the season ranked 53rd in the nation in scoring, but on Feb. 10, the Volunteers’ shooters were frustrated by A&M defenders. The Aggies limited Tennessee to 37.1 percent shooting (23-of-62) from the field and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from 3-point range. A&M also forced eight turnovers in an 89-65 victory. The 69 points by Tennessee were almost 10 below the Volunteers’ season average.
Best comeback: The Aggies trailed Iowa State by 21 points, 35-14, with 2:44 left in the first half on Nov. 26. Washington hit a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run to end the half. Taylor hit a jumper, and Hayden Hefner made a 3-pointer to open the second-half scoring. A&M eventually took a 45-43 on an Andersson Garcia layup with 12:30 remaining. The Aggies held off the Cyclones from there to close out a 73-69 victory.
Best individual offensive performance: It wasn’t Taylor’s highest-scoring output of the season, but his second-half eruption in a 70-66 loss to Houston on Dec. 16 was epic. Taylor finished with 34 points, but he scored 26 in the second half, including a half dozen 3-point goals. He was the only player to score more than seven points for A&M, which was without injured starters Radford and Henry Coleman III.
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Although A&M lost the game, Taylor was still named SEC Player of the Week for his heroic effort vs. Houston on Dec. 16.
Best emergence: For most of the season, the Aggies were looking for a consistent third-scoring option to complement Taylor and Radford. That option finally arrived on Feb. 28. On that day, Obaseki scored 11 points in a heartbreaking 70-68 last-second loss to South Carolina. But that started a streak of nine consecutive games in which Obaseki scored in double figures. During that span, Obaseki averaged 15.8 points and shot 48 percent from the field with a dozen 3-pointers. Not surprisingly, the Aggies were 6-3 in that span.
Biggest shot: Unfortunately, Garcia’s clutch 3-pointer off a Radford in-bounds pass with one second remaining only resulted in an 86-86 tie with Houston. But it did keep the Aggies alive in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that Houston prevailed 100-95 in overtime doesn’t change the fact Garcia’s shot was huge.
Best board work: Garcia accumulated 17 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive end, in A&M’s 85-69 victory over Tennessee. Though that wasn’t his season-high rebound total — Garcia had 19 against Houston Christian — it meant more because it was a significant SEC victory.
Best defensive play: Nebraska’s only chance to rally from a large second-half deficit was at the 3-point line. Washington took that chance way — with two hands. Like a pass-rushing defensive end, Washington reached out with both hands to block a 3-point attempt by Nebraska’s JaMarques Lawrence. Washington then came down with the rebounds and passed off to start a break, which ended with a Carter layup and an 85-64 lead.
Worst call: Carter was ruled out of bounds seconds after grabbing a steal with 8:25 showing in the second half of the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament game with Houston. Replays showed Carter was clearly in bounds. What did the official see? Possession was given back to Houston, which promptly scored. Of course, that was a major turn of events because the game eventually went into overtime.
