COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M men's basketball lost its first game in the SEC Tournament, but experts say it's a clean slate once the NCAA Tournament begins.
I spoke with CBS college basketball reporter and betting analyst Tom Casale outside Reed Arena, where he said he's not worried about the Aggies' early SEC Tournament exit.
"I don't think it's gonna have a huge impact because in these major conferences, uh, and when you play outside the conference, it's really your body of work. Uh, you know, I, I think where that impacts a team, I, I think like Texas, who really struggled at the end of the season, then lost to a really bad Ole Miss team," Casale said.
Casale said the Aggies should look to avoid the No. 1 seeds in early rounds.
"No, not, not, not, not necessarily, um, cause if you're in the 8-9 game, you're going to have to play the 1 seed, and I can tell you right now, this year, you don't want to play the 1 seeds because the way college sports has turned, I think for college basketball, it's probably getting the worst of it. Um, those teams that are like the top 5 teams in the country are really, really, really good," Casale said.
Matchups become incredibly important for these neutral-site games.
"They play a style that's gonna be difficult for some teams to prepare for and match up with the NCAA tournament, and that is the only thing that matters. That's it. It doesn't, it, it, it, these conference tournaments, while fun, It just doesn't matter," Casale said.
Casale said the Aggies have favorable matchups that will surprise some.
"The one team that you would want A&M maybe playing is Michigan — Michigan's biggest weakness by a mile is turning the ball over, and they lost their backup point guard, and the Big 10 doesn't pressure the basketball. So when you, I, this is one of the metrics I always look at coming into the tournament, and I'll tell you two teams that I'm worried about are Michigan and Michigan State, because when you have a high turnover ratio in the Big 10. What's gonna happen when you get in the tournament and start playing these SEC and Big 12 teams that pressure the ball nonstop and send waves of guards at you," Casale said.
Selection Sunday will determine where the Aggies play and who they face — two factors that could shape how deep they go in March.
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