Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan made a case for his team to get an NCAA Tournament at-large bid if it doesn’t win the SEC tournament.
The Aggies (20-10, 10-7) can add to an already strong postseason resume when they face LSU in their regular-season finale Saturday in Baton Rouge La.
“You should want us in the tournament,” McMillan said. “We’re exciting to watch and we’re a tough match-up. We’ve won 20 games and we have a winning record in the SEC.”
McMillan was pleased that his team recaptured its identity in a 96-85 victory against visiting Kentucky on Tuesday night, ending a two-game losing streak. He said he wanted to see the team shoot “30-40” 3-pointers.
The Aggies took just 28 from beyond the arc, but that was their most attempts in five games and their 13 makes were the most in six games, producing a 46.4% accuracy rate.
“We are what we are. We’re a shooting team,” McMillan said. “We’ve got to stay with it, even through the ups and downs of it, and the ups and downs of the season. When we make shots we probably can beat just about anybody.”
LSU (15-15, 3-14) has lost seven of its last eight games and its most recent outing, an 88-74 loss at Auburn on Tuesday, resembled many of the previous losses. LSU had some good moments but overall had an incomplete performance.
The score was tied with less than four minutes remaining the first half, but Auburn closed with a 12-5 run and expanded the lead to as many as 19 points in the second half.
“I thought when we moved the ball and shared it offensively,” Tigers coach Matt McMahon said, “we were really efficient on that end of the floor.”
LSU shot 54.6% from the floor and 46.7% on 3-pointers. “You would hope that would be good enough to win,” McMahon said.
But the Tigers had 11 first-half turnovers and allowed four offensive rebounds that led to seven second-chance points during the first five minutes of the second half, helping Auburn to create breathing room.
