Texas A&M begins March Madness run against Nebraska in Memphis

Once again, Texas A&M must overcome a Big Ten opponent to face an in-state rival in the NCAA Tournament.

On Selection Sunday, the Aggies (20-14) were announced as the No. 9 seed in the South Regional.

On Friday, they will face the No. 8 seed Nebraska (23-10) in Memphis.

If they advance, the Aggies would almost certainly play No. 1 seed Houston (30-4), which faces No. 16 seed Longwood of the Big South Conference.

Last year, A&M would’ve faced Texas in the second round, but it was upset by Penn State, 76-56.

An interesting side note to the matchup of former Big 12 rivals is that A&M just hired Director of Athletics Trev Alberts away from Nebraska. That could add some spice to the matchup.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with A&M, 12-8. The most recent meeting was in 2011 in which Nebraska prevailed 57-48 in Lincoln.

The Cornhuskers have never won an NCAA Tournament game. Their most recent appearance in March Madness was in 2014 when they lost to Baylor in San Antonio, 74-60.

Despite their modest NCAA history, the Cornhuskers cannot be taken lightly.

They have a No. 33 NET ranking, which is boosted by four Quadrant 1 victories. Their biggest win was 88-73 over Purdue on Jan. 9. The Boilermakers are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The Huskers also have Quad 1 wins over Ohio State (88-63), Wisconsin (80-72) in overtime and Michigan State (77-70).

Nebraska averaged 77.6 points to rank fourth in the Big Ten in scoring. The Huskers also ranked fifth in the conference in 3-point percentage (.358), third in rebounding (37.9) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.754).

The Cornhuskers, who have won seven of their last nine games, are led by guard Keisei Tominaga, a senior from Nagoya, Japan. Tominaga averages 14.9 points. He shoots 46.8 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from 3-point range and 87.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Tominaga has scored more than 20 points seven times this season. He also scored 30 points in an 85-70 victory at Michigan and 31 points in an 87-84 overtime loss to Illinois.

However, Tominaga is by no means the Huskers’ only offensive threat.

Brice Williams, a 6-foot-7 junior guard, averages 13.1 points. Forward Rienk Mast, a 6-foot-10 junior from The Netherlands, averages 12.5 points and 7.6 rebounds. Forward Juwan Gary, a 6-foot-6 junior, averages 11.7 points.

Williams and Mast both shoot better than 36 percent from behind the arc. Williams has hit 49 treys. Mast has hit 41.

If A&M gets by Nebraska, that would likely set up a rematch of an outstanding game with Houston earlier this season. The Aggies suffered a hard-fought 70-66 loss to the Cougars on Dec. 16 at the Toyota in Houston.