Looking at the number of things the Texas A&M basketball team accomplished in its first season under head coach Bucky McMillan was remarkable.
There were way more goals reached than anyone ever anticipated in Year 1 of Bucky Ball, as he was one of the last coaches to recruit his players and was picked to finish No. 13 in the SEC.
The fact that he compiled a strong campaign in a short period of time to make it to the NCAA Tournament was quite impressive, and how each one of those players contributed to make it happen was even more striking. Among all the things that happened throughout the season, these stood out as the most important for McMillan's team to power through the highs and lows.
Downing Delta Devils
This was the game in which A&M dominated Mississippi Valley State 120-84. It was the highest number of points an A&M roster had ever scored, and it felt like one of the turning points of the season, fueling the team with confidence that it had the talent to get to where it wanted.
In this contest, there was an 11-0 run followed by another 12-0 run to go up early. At intermission, the Aggies had a 52-35 lead and led by as many as 24. Forward Mackenzie Mgbako had a 13-point half, finishing with 19 points after coming back from injury. Other stars like forward Zach Clemence and guard Ruben Dominguez each concluded with 15 points, and it was an even better night for the defense.
A total of 31 turnovers were forced, which were converted into 46 points, and it was a huge game for the bench, which registered 66 points.
.1 seconds left at Auburn
Later down the road, A&M traveled to one of the hardest places to compete in, Neville Arena, where newly promoted head coach Steve Pearl nearly punched his team to a win in the miraculous closing minutes, but Bucky and the boys had an answer after erasing the 16-point deficit.
A viral quote circulated on the internet after the game, as McMillan said, "If you're a millisecond late, you know it don't count," and that was certainly true because the Tigers' star, Keshawn Murphy, nailed a 30-foot shot at the buzzer that appeared to be the game-winning play, which went to replay review.
Turns out, after it was called that it was a successful shot on the floor, it was overturned to send the 9,121 in attendance into outrage because the call that was originally ruled in their favor ended the early celebration with trash flying everywhere and McMillan posting his first road SEC win that took place in his home state.
The Aggies trailed by 10 at halftime and found their groove in the second half with a 33-6 run, with guard Pop Isaacs scoring 21 points, 16 of them in the second half. A&M shot 9-of-17 from deep and finished 58.1 percent from the field. It was an emotional trip that will go down as one of the wildest endings in college basketball.
Defeating Big Blue
Being on the bubble is absolutely scary for any roster and any fanbase because there is no comfort in knowing that a game can swing the season one way or the other in a hurry. For both A&M and Kentucky, there was a moment when they were on the right side of the bubble heading into the contest at Reed Arena, but neither was confident with a week left in the regular season.
The Maroon and White jumped out to a tremendous first half of the season, with only one loss in the first eight conference games, putting them atop the standings. That quickly withered away after a tough four-game losing streak, with a few must-win games to come, and one was defeating head coach Mark Pope's program.
This 96-85 victory featured five players who reached double figures, and three bench players stepped up big time. It was going to be one of those games where either the three-ball was falling or it wasn't, and it did as the Aggies connected on 13 of their triples. It was a period when not enough shots from 3-point range went in, and there was a little more concern, but it was cleaned up as guard Rylan Griffen logged 21 points.
It was also a feel-good win going into the final game of the regular season and heading to the SEC Tournament, which made it even more pivotal to reach that 10-win mark in the conference to make it to the NCAA Tournament and add to the resume.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tamu as The 3 Most Important Moments of Texas A&M's 2026 Basketball Season.