Bjork claims 10 conference wins should get A&M into NCAA Tournament

TAMPA — Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork said on Friday morning that he believes the Aggies should be included in the NCAA Tournament field.

The Aggies (21-11) play No. 4 Auburn at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference postseason basketball tournament. An A&M victory would likely guarantee the Aggies a place in the 68-team NCAA field.

Yet, Bjork said he thinks the Aggies should’ve earned a bid with an 83-80 victory over Florida on Thursday.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee will announce the field on Sunday.

“Look, we won ten games in the SEC. If you look at some of the other bubble teams … we beat Notre Dame on a neutral site,” Bjork said. “Supposedly, they’re in.”

The Aggies defeated Notre Dame 73-67 in Las Vegas earlier this season.

A&M started 15-2 but then endured an eight-game losing streak in SEC play. However, the Aggies have bounced back to win six of their last seven games, including five in a row.

“Now, we’ve won ten games in this league. To me, yeah, we should be in,” Bjork said. “The eight-game losing streak, people are going to focus on that. But we’re finishing strong, and that’s what you want to do. We’ll see.”

Should the selection committee deny the Aggies, Bjork said A&M has put in a bid to be a host in the National Invitation Tournament.

“As Buzz (Williams, coach) is building the program, I think having postseason wins is important,” Bjork said. “You look at a lot of teams, if they make a run in the NIT one year, usually you look the next year, and they’re squarely in the (NCAA) Tournament.

“Those are the kind of things we look at as we build the program.

“We put in a bid to host. There’s some money involved. There’s some tickets involved. Basically, is your arena available on these dates? Do you have the capacity? Do you have the setup? Obviously, we do at A&M. And then are you willing to host? Of course, we are willing to host.”

Bjork said A&M would not be interested in the lower-tier College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament.