Late-blooming Penn State poses a challenge
COLLEGESTATION— Most prognostications had Texas A & Masa No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The one that counts slotted the Aggies as a seventh seed, making their road to Houston and the Final Four a bit bumpier against higher-rated competition.
A&M guard Wade Taylor IV said he doesn’t care.
“The seeding doesn’t matter when we get on the court,” Taylor said.
The Aggies, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, drew another team on a hot streak in 10thseeded Penn State at 8:55 p.m. Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The Nittany Lions made their first NCAA Tournament since 2011 thanks to winning eight of their last 10 games against Big Ten competition.
“We (get) down, but we’re never out in any game (with) the way we shoot the ball and the way we defend,” Penn State guard Myles Dread said.
The winner of A&MPenn State draws the winner ofNo. 2 seed Texas-No. 15 seedColgate, who play at 6:35 p.m. Thursday in Des Moines. The round of 32 game is set for Saturday, with that winner advancing to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Mo.
The Aggies (25-9) are in their first NCAA Tournament in five years and first under fourth-year coach Buzz Williams. The Nittany Lions (22-13) are in their second season under coach Micah Shrewsberry, a former Butler, Purdue and Boston Celtics assistant.
“Hearing your name called, it’s special,” Shrewsberry said of the Nittany Lions making the field of 68 for the first time in a dozen years. “It’s not guaranteed, and it takes a lot of work to get there.”
Premium guard play will be on display when the Aggies and Nittany Lions meet for the first time in six years ( A&M holds a 4-0 all-time advantage, and the two have never played in the postseason). Wade made the AllSEC first team, while Penn State’s Jalen Pickett was a first team All-Big Ten pick after leading the Nittany Lions in both scoring (17.9 points per game) and rebounds (7.3 per game).
Penn State, which lost four consecutive games in early February to Purdue, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Maryland, nearly won the Big Ten tournament Sunday following awild comeback against the Boilermakers, who earned one of the top four overall seeds along with Alabama, Houston and Kansas.
The rising Nittany Lions, seeded 10th in the Big Ten tournament, became the league’s first double-digit seed to advance to the conference tournament title game since 2008 with an upset of thirdseeded Indiana on Saturday. The Hoosiers wound up a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“They don’t just play big,” Indiana forward
Trayce Jackson-Davis said of Penn State’s versatility and willingness to find ways to win. “They can play small ball and really space the floor, and they’ve got shooters from one through five. They play very physical for even when they do play small ball. … That’s a great team.”
Meantime, Williams, as he did a year ago when the Aggies were among the last teams left out of the NCAA Tournament despite a strong finish and an overall 23-12 record, called for clarity in the selection committee’s process of determining the at-large teams and overall tournament seedings.
“As I’ve been saying all along — and it started at this time last year, and I probably shouldn’t be the spokesperson (again) — I think transparency is needed,” Williams said Sunday night after the Aggies were seeded lower than expected. “With so much at stake and the exposure and all that comes with it, I think there’s a better way that smart people can figure out how we can all be on the same page on how this works.”
The selection committee of 12 members consists of athletic directors and conference commissioners, with Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne representing the Southeastern Conference.
The Aggies lost 82-63 to Alabama on Sunday in the SEC tournament title game in Nashville, Tenn., a little more than a week after beating the Crimson Tide in College Station.
“They’re a tough, great team,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of the Aggies.
A&M will try to make program history 100 miles from its home arena with a little tougher schedule than it anticipated Sunday morning. The Aggies have made six Sweet 16s, including in 2018 under Billy Kennedy in their last visit to the NCAA Tournament, but have never advanced as far as the Elite Eight.
NRG Stadiumis hosting the Final Four for the first time since 2016, when the Aggies also made the Sweet 16 behind future NBA players Danuel House and Alex Caruso and lost to Oklahoma in Anaheim, Calif., two victories shy of a joyous bus ride to Houston from College Station.