No. 13 A&M a 'go-for-launch' as 2024-25 opens on the road in Orlando

Just 45 miles west of Cape Canaveral, the 13th-ranked Aggies will launch their 2024-25 campaign from Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.

A win would be one small step for Buzz Williams and one giant leap for the best team he’s had in his six years in College Station.

Mission Control at Reed Arena has cleared Texas A&M for launch, and now it’s a matter of execution in their season-opening road trip to UCF on Monday at 6 p.m. CT.

In addition to returning 70.6 percent of their total scoring and 76.8 percent of their total rebounding, the Aggies added three veterans in the transfer portal — Zhuric Phelps from SMU, CJ Wilcher from Nebraska and Pharrel Payne from Minnesota, who combined for 32.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game last season.

Despite all the preseason hype, top-25 rankings and March Madness bracketology projections, the veteran group is focused on one game at a time.

“I think the biggest thing for us is just take one game at a time,” senior Henry Coleman III said this week. “We’re going to play some hard games, but for us, it’s going to have to be one game at a time. We can’t look ahead. We have to treat every game like it’s an NCAA Tournament game.”

With Williams’ challenging non-conference scheduling, the Aggies will face a multitude of NCAA Tournament-worthy teams in November and December, and they’ll get their first test on Monday night against the Knights.

For the first time in 24 years, A&M starts its campaign on the road in the first-ever meeting with UCF.

Last year, the up-and-coming Knights knocked off three ranked opponents in their inaugural Big 12 season, erasing a 16-point deficit against No. 3 Kansas, beating No. 23 Oklahoma and No. 23 Texas Tech.

A&M has won 23 straight season openers, with the last loss coming in their most recent road opener at George Washington in 2000.

“I love the 12th Man, don’t get me wrong, but I love a good road game,” Coleman said. “Jace (Carter) is going close to his hometown, so I’m happy for him. He said he’s got a ton of people coming, so I’m excited for him.”

Carter grew up just 45 minutes away from Orlando in Titusville, and he’ll have 20-30 friends and family members in attendance on Monday night.

“This is my second time playing in Florida in college. It’s crazy,” Carter said. “It’s going to be exciting to have my mom and dad there. My dad is not the biggest traveler, so give him grace, but he’s seen me play maybe three or four times since I’ve been in college. To have him there and my grandma and some friends is going to be fun. I used to grow up going to UCF basketball camp when I was little.”

As Carter prepares for his homecoming, he’ll need the other engines in the backcourt firing on all cylinders against the Knights.

UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins added UTSA’s leading scorer Jordan Ivy-Curry (18.1 PPG), the fifth leading scorer in the AAC last season.

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Senior guard Wade Taylor IV enters 2024-2025 with preseason first-team All-SEC acclaim.

The Knights also return a trio of starting guards in Keyshawn Hall (16.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG), Jaylin Sellers (15.9 PPG) and Darius Johnson (15.2 PPG).

Between Ivy-Curry, Hall, Sellers and Johnson, UCF has one of the more underrated and experienced guard quartets in the country, which will provide an early test for Wade Taylor IV, Manny Obaseki, Phelps, Wilcher and Carter.

The Maroon & White are looking to bounce back from a 79-64 exhibition loss to No. 4 Houston on Sunday, Oct. 27.

“It was really embarrassing. We took great ownership of it,” Williams said. “We are addressing all of the things we struggled with the most.

“To walk out of there with double black eyes and your lip busted, maybe it will help us now instead of doing it when it’s on the record. I’ve tried to make some adjustments because it shouldn’t just be all on the players.”

Dawkins and UCF must make their adjustments following a 114-76 loss to Georgia in their preseason exhibition last Tuesday.

Some good news could be on the way soon for A&M, as Williams mentioned both Solomon Washington and Phelps were “progressing” after missing the exhibition as a precaution.

It’s now T-24 hours to lift off of the highly-anticipated campaign, and Williams’ Aggies are officially go for launch.