Texas A&M's vision of lifting the trophy in the SEC Tournament quickly vanished after Oklahoma erected a big lead in the first half of their second-round tiff at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
The sixth-seeded Aggies tried to rally, but the 11th-seeded Sooners proved to be too much. Oklahoma coasted to the upset victory, 83-63, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Texas A&M, which was coming off back-to-back wins against Kentucky and LSU.
While the Aggies still have a chance to enter the NCAA Tournament, coach Bucky McMillan issued a blunt reminder.
“Rest always matters, but the reality of it is, we're not going to win an NCAA Tournament game if we don't have more guys play an A+ game. We're going to have to have that on both sides of the ball. We've got to be us,” said McMillan.
Texas A&M struggled from the field, shooting just 38%. The team was also badly outrebounded, 48-33.
The Sooners, who recently retired Buddy Hield's jersey, unleashed a 22-5 run, including nailing six three-pointers, in the first half to break the game wide open. They held a 22-point advantage at the break, 49-27.
The Aggies, who are in their first year under McMillan, cut the lead to a dozen early in the second half, but that was the closest they got.
Rashaun Agee had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Texas A&M, while Pop Isaacs added 12 points, all from long distance, and six rebounds.
The Aggies are looking for their fourth straight stint in the NCAA Tournament and 18th overall.
