Texas A&M rides a five-game win streak into a tough road test vs 8-1 SMU, looking to prove its early-season turnaround is real.
Texas A&M men's basketball has flipped its season script in a hurry.
After stumbling to a 2-2 start with back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and UCF, the Aggies have ripped off five straight wins and are suddenly playing like a team with real momentum.
They've dominated their recent opponents, including a pair of 100-point outbursts at home in front of the 12th Man, and now head into one of their toughest early-season tests with a road matchup with SMU on Sunday.
The trip to Dallas wraps up a three-game road stretch for A&M before the Aggies return to Reed Arena. It's also a chance to show that their recent surge isn't just a home-court illusion.
"Well, you know it's hard to win on the road, we know that," head coach Bucky McMillan said. "I think that we weren't ready to win on the road earlier in the year, I'd be the first to say that. The defense has to be pretty good, and you've got to not turn the ball over, you've got to take elite shots, and that's how you win on the road."
SMU will test every bit of that formula.
The Mustangs are 8-1 on the season and a perfect 7-0 at home. They opened the year 8-0 before finally slipping in an 88-69 road loss at Vanderbilt, but at Moody Coliseum, they've been a different animal.
"I know they play fast, I know they are a good team, I know they have good guards," McMillan said of SMU. "You know their potential obviously tournament team right there and so it'll be a good game and it should be an exciting game because I think both teams like to get up and down and it's right here in state."
Since those early setbacks, the Aggies have focused on tightening up the basics ... cutting turnovers, sharpening shot selection, and defending with more discipline. The progress has been obvious in their recent home wins.
"Just get better, that's the only thing that I worry about," McMillan said. "I don’t worry so much about the other teams as much as I do the team that matters most, which is our team."
With the season still young, games like this can loom large in March.
After early losses to Oklahoma State and UCF, A&M now has a chance to stack a quality road win over SMU and keep proving that what they did against Florida State, and during this win streak, is the new standard, not a hot streak.