Texas A&M (10-9, 0-3 SEC) will likely drop out of the top 25 rankings in nearly every media outlet by Monday afternoon after losing its SEC opening series vs. No. 17 Alabama (19-1, 3-0 SEC), dropping all three games due to a combination of poor piching out of the bullpen and an even worse performance at the plate.

For the third time this weekend, Texas A&M’s starting pitching has not been the issue, as Myles Patton, like Ryan Prager and Justin Lamkin before him, provided enough on the mound after allowing just five hits and one earned run with six strikeouts. In his relief, Weston Moss allowed four hits and Alabama’s second run of the day while also striking out four.

Allowing just two runs is good enough to win on most nights, but Texas A&M’s offense produced just four hits, including Jace LaViolette’s 0-4 showing despite making contact during nearly all his at-bats.

On the other hand, Alabama pitcher Bobby Alcock had an outstanding start, lasting seven innings. All of Texas A&M’s four hits came during his time on the mound, which included eight strikeouts. At this point, it isn’t surprising that the Aggies finished 0-3 to start SEC play, and this weekend’s road trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt (15-5, 1-2 SEC) doesn’t make things any easier.

Lastly, while Texas A&M’s bullpen and lack of consistent hitting continue to be issues, fielding errors are also a primary culprit, as the Aggies have committed 23 errors in 19 games compared to 51 errors last season.

Texas A&M will host A&M Corpus-Christi on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Texas A&M will face Vanderbilt on the road starting Thursday, March 20, at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

The 5th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the 4th ranked Florida Gators 102-84 on Saturday in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators may very well be the best team in the country. The Tide fell to 25-8 overall while Florida improved to 29-4. The loss was Alabama second to the Gators in the last two weeks. Bama played a strong, spirited, first half, but UF proved too much in the second period and ran away with the game.
The Tide continued with their starting lineup of Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson, and Clifford Omoruyi. The contest was back and forth for the entirety of the half, with the Tide having as much as a six point lead and the Gators never leading by more than three points.

A cold spell over the last two minutes by the Tide allowed Florida to take a 47-45 lead into the locker room. Alabama also took a hobbled Sears and Nelson into the halftime break. Sears’ ankle did allow him to continue, but Nelson’s knee kept him out of the second half. It is yet to be determined how serious the injury is, and how long it may keep Nelson out.

In the half the Tide shot 17-35 for 49% with 5-17 from three point range and made only 5-11 free throws. Bama had 20 rebounds, two blocks, 10 assists, three steals, and five turnovers. The game was tight despite Philon being held scoreless and Sears not making a single three point shot. Nelson had a strong half prior to his injury with nine points, three rebounds, one assist, a block, and a steal. Jarin Stevenson had nine points. Omoruyi scored eight and Sears added seven points.

Florida shot 18-38 for 47%, 6-15 from three, and 5-9 at the charity stripe. The Gators grabbed 22 rebounds, had seven assists, four steals, and six turnovers. Dynamic guard Walter Clayton, Jr, led the charge with 12 points.

Things got away quickly in the second half, and the Tide never had a chance. Florida did as they pleased and went on an 11-0 run that ballooned to 17-2 over several minutes. When asked about why he didn’t call a timeout during the stretch, Oats said “what do you want me to say, play harder? We had already told them we needed to do that, they have to figure out it they want to be then hardest playing team on the floor or not.”

The Tide shot only 11-32 for 34% in the second half with 6-18 from deep and were 9-12 at the free throw line. Overall the team finished 28-67 for 42%, 11-35 for 31% from three, and 15-23 for 65% at the free throw line. Bama tallied 38 rebounds, 14 assists, four blocks, four steals, and 10 total turnovers. Youngblood’s 14 points led the scoring. Omoruyi scored 12 points put was only able to grab one rebound. Mo Dioubate scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds, five offensively, and added a block and a pair of steals. Stevenson scored 10 and had five rebounds as his improved play continues. Sears, Nelson, and Aden Holloway contributed nine points each.

Florida shot 19-34 for 56% in the second half, with 6-12 from deep, and made 13-19 free throws. Overall the Gators shot 37-72 for 51%, 12-27 for 44% from three, and made 18-28 free throws. UF had 43 rebounds, 17 assists, four blocks, eight steals, and seven turnovers. Clayton scored 22 to lead six players in double figures. Will Richard and Alijah Martin were next with 16 each.

Next up is selection Sunday. The Tide should be locked in as a two seed, hopefully in a region with favorable matchups where they can try to go on another magical run toward the Final Four.

Roll Tide

Jackson State faces Alabama State in the SWAC Championship Game at The Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, on Saturday, March 15, 2025 (3/15/25).

How to watch: Fans can watch the game via a free trial to DirecTVStream or fuboTV.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: SWAC Championship game

Who: Jackson State vs. Alabama State

When: March 15, 2025

Time: 9:30 p.m. EST

Where: The Gateway Center Arena

TV: ESPNU

Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV,Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.

Live stream: DirecTVStream or fuboTV

Here’s a recent AP basketball story:

A look at the NCAA Tournament bubble picture:

Holding on

We’ve reached the point where most bubble teams are done playing in their conference tournaments. It’s just a question of how many spots will be left for them.

That depends on whether there are any more bid thieves. No. 16 Memphis held on for a one-point win over Tulane in the AAC Tournament on Saturday, and Virginia Commonwealth advanced in the Atlantic 10. If either of those teams lose, it will enter the at-large pool, which would be bad news for the rest of the bubble.

The experts say …

ESPN’s last four in: Vanderbilt, San Diego State, Xavier, Boise State.

CBS Sports’ last four in: West Virginia, Boise State, Indiana, San Diego State.

Sports Illustrated’s last four in: Arkansas, San Diego State, Indiana, Boise State.

Washington Post’s last four in: San Diego State, Vanderbilt, Texas, Indiana.

ESPN’s first four out: Indiana, North Carolina, Texas, Dayton.

CBS Sports’ first four out: Xavier, Texas, North Carolina, Wake Forest.

Sports Illustrated’s first four out: Texas, North Carolina, Xavier, UC Irvine.

Washington Post’s first four out: North Carolina, Xavier, Boise State, Ohio State.

Up next

Another game to watch for a possible bid thief: UC San Diego faces UC Irvine on Saturday night in the Big West final. Bubble teams should be rooting for UCSD.

Automatic bids so far

SIU Edwardsville (Ohio Valley), Omaha (Summit), Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun), High Point (Big South), Drake (Missouri Valley), Wofford (Southern), Troy (Sun Belt), Robert Morris (Horizon), UNC-Wilmington (Coastal Athletic), St. Francis, Pa. (Northeast), Gonzaga (WCC), McNeese (Southland), American (Patriot), Montana (Big Sky), Bryant (America East), Norfolk State (MEAC).

Automatic bids at stake Saturday

ACC (Duke vs. Louisville)

Big 12 (Houston vs. Arizona)

Big East (St. John’s vs. Creighton)

Big West (UC San Diego vs. UC Irvine)

Conference USA (Liberty vs. Jacksonville State)

MAAC (Iona vs. Mount St. Mary’s)

MAC (Akron vs. Miami, Ohio)

Mountain West (Boise State vs. Colorado State)

SWAC (Jackson State vs. Alabama State)

WAC (Utah Valley vs. Grand Canyon)

Automatic bids at stake Sunday

AAC (Memphis vs. North Texas-UAB winner)

Atlantic 10 (VCU vs. George Mason)

Big Ten (Michigan vs. Wisconsin)

Ivy (Yale vs. Cornell)

SEC (Florida vs. Tennessee)

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