Just two seasons ago, Houston narrowly sidestepped a second-round upset bid by Texas A&M in one of the most memorable games of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The 10th-seeded Aggies (22-11) will take another swipe at upsetting the second-seeded Cougars (29-6) on Saturday when the schools located approximately 90 miles apart meet in the second round of the South Region at Oklahoma City.
Houston standout guard Emanuel Sharp is the only player on either team to play in that contest, and he scored a career-best 30 points and a then-career-high seven 3-pointers in his team’s 100-95 overtime victory. The Aggies forced the OT when Andersson Garcia drilled a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation.
That was the second of two meetings between the programs that season. Texas A&M rallied from 21 points down in the regular-season matchup but fell 70-66 at Houston. Sharp had 21 points and five treys in that one.
“Every time we play A&M, it’s real competitive,” Sharp recalled Friday of the previous matchups. “Just great basketball. A lot of energy. Just coming out, competing, the same thing we do every game. Just having the right mindset. You know, they’re a great team, great coaching staff.
“Just make sure we’re going out there and playing our brand of basketball and executing the scouting report.”
Houston opened this year’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-47 drubbing of No. 15 seed Idaho on Thursday.
Texas A&M never trailed in its first game and defeated No. 7 Saint Mary’s 63-50.
Rashaun Agee recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Aggies as they won a first-round game for the third straight season. The difference was that the win over Saint Mary’s was the first under coach Bucky McMillan. His fast-paced “Bucky Ball” approach has been a hit for the Aggies and forced the Gaels into a season-worst 18 turnovers.
However, facing a Houston squad with standout guards and known for tenacious defense will be a stern test.
“They’re tough. That’s just the way, when you get deep in the tournament, good guard play is,” McMillan said. “But, you know, you still got to be us. Saint Mary’s obviously had good guard play, a low-turnover team, and we were effective in containing those guys as much as we could. We got to be us and let it rock.”
The Aggies’ Rylan Griffen knows his club will face a challenge from the Cougars.
“I will just say they really get after you defensively,” said Griffen, who had just four points against Saint Mary’s. “They have a great reputation of being a great defensive team. So just making sure we don’t give them points by turning the ball over will be really, really key for us in this type game.”
Houston shut down Idaho, holding the Vandals to 28.6% shooting from the field and 6 of 30 from 3-point range.
The Cougars have their eyes on returning to the NCAA title game — they lost to Florida a season ago — and figure to receive a much more strenuous battle from the Aggies.
“They play a unique style of basketball,” said Milos Uzan, who had 12 points against Idaho. “Ten guys. They press the whole game. It’s definitely something that we haven’t played yet, so it’s going to be exciting.”
Of course, everyone will be watching to see if Sharp torments the Aggies for a third time.
“I don’t know. Knock on wood, I don’t know,” he said of his personal success. “It’s the competitive nature that brings out the best in all of us. It’s not just Texas A&M. It’s nothing specific about Texas A&M.”
