A&M proud of third straight bid

There were bumpy moments during the season and times when it appeared that Selection Sunday might have disappointment in store for Texas A&M.

But in the end, the Aggies’ unprecedented run of making the postseason continues.

Texas A&M had to wait until the final bracket was announced, but it received an NCAA bid for the third consecutive season Sunday after never having played in back-to-back tournaments before the current streak.

“To make the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year just shows how far we’ve come as a program,” senior forward Joe Jones said. “It feels great because it gives us another opportunity to show what we can do.”

With a strong showing in the Big 12 tournament — the Aggies (24-10) won two games for the first time in school history — Texas A&M was rewarded with a No. 9 seed in the West Region.

The Aggies will face eighth-seeded BYU (27-7) at 6:25 p.m. Thursday in a first-round game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

While coach Mark Turgeon was not with the Aggies last season, he shares something in common with the players on the team. He’s never lost a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach and neither have any of the players.

While Turgeon went to the Final Four as a player at Kansas, it’s only his second NCAA trip as a head coach. His first was with Wichita State in 2006 and his team advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to George Mason.

And the Aggies, under coach Billy Gillispie, advanced past the first round in each of their first two years of the current streak, including a trip to the Sweet 16 last season.

“It means a lot to the seniors to play in three straight NCAA Tournaments,” senior guard Beau Muhlbach said. “It just shows that hard work pays off. It’s all about the team right now, about coming together and trying to win as a team.”

To advance, the Aggies likely are going to have to guard against the 3-pointer. Brigham Young hit 278 3-pointers this season, making 37.5 percent of its attempts, and rolled to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title. The Cougars made more 3-pointers than any team in the Big 12.

A&M has been stingy, holding teams to 33.9 percent shooting on 3-pointers.

The Cougars aren’t purely one-dimensional as 6-foot-11 center Trent Plaisted anchors the inside and was the team’s second-leading scorer with 15.6 points per game. He also had a team-high 7.8 rebounds.

“BYU has... had a great year,” Turgeon said. “They are always very tough and skilled and they have a big kid in the middle who has a chance to be a pro. With the game being on the West Coast, they will probably have a lot of fans there. We are looking forward to the challenge.”

If the Aggies can get past the Cougars, a likely second-round rematch against top-seeded UCLA awaits. Texas A&M played UCLA last season in the Honda Center in the Wooden Classic and lost 65-62.

“We have a good feel for what the atmosphere will be like,” sophomore guard Derrick Roland said.