Aggies stay in “First Four Out” in fresh ESPN Bracketology update

The Aggies are two days removed from their season-defining road victory over the 15th-ranked Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night, entering the Neville Arena as a four-point underdog, only to completely shut down one of the better offensive units in the country 79-63. With the victory, Texas A&M is now 14-6, and 6-1 in the SEC all while keeping pace with Tennesee (7-1) and Alabama (8-0) for the top spot in the conference.

On Friday, ESPN “Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi released his updated bracket, where even with the addition of the Auburn win, the Aggies remain in the “First Four Out” section just as they did this time last week, all while a program like West Virginia (12-8, 2-6 Big 12) is squarely in the field as of January 27th. To be fair, Lunardi may be basing most of his bracket on the Net ranking system, which currently has Texas A&M ranked 42nd, and West Virginia ranked 25th, mainly due to their collective performance during nonconference play.

Here’s a healthy reminder that it is still only January, meaning that 11 games remain on the regular season schedule, with plenty of Quad 1 opportunity ahead to boost the Aggie’s resume before the SEC Tournament in early March. Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena to face Vanderbilt on Saturday night, as the game will air on the SEC Network with a start time of 7:30 PM CT.