TEXAS A&M AGGIES
› Record: 18-3 (7-1 SEC)› AP ranking/RPI: 8/12› Best win: 72-62 at home over Iowa State in Big 12/SEC Challenge› Worst loss: 67-54 at Arizona State› Best player: Senior guard and College Station native Alex Caruso is the glue that holds the Aggies together, but senior forward Jalen Jones is the stat monster on the A&M roster, averaging team highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (7.4) as well as hitting 76.3 percent of his free throws and 34 percent of his 3-pointers.› Biggest weakness: Free throws. The Aggies are hitting just 65.7 percent of their free throws this season, which could be a huge problem if not fixed before the NCAA tournament, when most games past the round of 64 usually come down to foul shots.› Can be hoopin’ in Houston if: They raise their free-throw percentage and the seniors — Caruso, Jones, Danuel House and Anthony Collins — play like seniors despite having never previously reached the NCAA tournament. If they play to their experience rather than their excitement over making the field, this is as deep, talented and hungry a team as March Madness will see.› Coachspeak: “Coach (Billy) Kennedy has done a great job. They have great balance. House came out and was hitting 3s from everywhere. Him and Jalen Jones, Caruso and Collins make for a nice blend in upperclassmen and new guys.” — Baylor’s Scott Drew after an 80-61 loss at A&M in December.
Road to Final Four series
* Indiana suddenly good enough to win it all * Nothing silly about a Virginia run to Final Four * Buddy system could make Oklahoma an NCAA champion * Can No. 1 Villanova finish season as Top Cats? * Michigan State back on track for Final Four run * Texas A&M could become a March monster * Tar Heels good enough to win Williams his third NCAA title * Kansas once more has Final Four look in January
The question was posed to Texas A&M senior guard Alex Caruso in late October, weeks before he and his success-starved classmates would begin their quest to reach the NCAA basketball tournament for the first time in their careers.
Asked about the impact the Big 12/SEC Challenge could make on the Southeastern Conference's less respected programs, Caruso said, "That's the kind of spotlight the SEC has been looking for. Getting a win in that could change your season."
Last Saturday, (then) No. 14 Iowa State visited the (then) No. 5 Aggies in Caruso's hometown of College Station, Texas. In perhaps its best performance of an outstanding season, A&M prevailed 72-62 against the Cyclones, pushing its record to 18-3 overall.
Thanks to an earlier loss last week at Arkansas, the Iowa State win didn't prevent the Aggies from slipping to No. 8 in this week's Associated Press poll. But it did prove they are capable of handling the spotlight, which hasn't previously been the case.
"It was a statement game and also a bounce-back game," said Aggies freshman big man Tyler Davis, who used his 6-foot-10, 260-pound frame to pour in 15 points and grab six rebounds against ISU.
Said Cyclones senior George Niang after battling Davis: "If he keeps working, he's going to be the best big man in the country. He has tremendous upside. He's got great touch, is aggressive, fearless. You don't see freshmen like him out there who don't get rattled."
The problem for the Aggies is that they've been previously rattled at big moments pretty much ever since coach Billy Kennedy came from a successful run at Murray State following the 2011 season. Or as Caruso noted in the fall when asked if last year's 20-win regular season had been deserving of the school's first NCAA bid since the year before Kennedy arrived: "Deserving is a testy word. We haven't even gotten a two-day bye in the (SEC) tournament yet."
That should change in five weeks. Currently 7-1 in league play heading into Wednesday night's game at Vanderbilt, the Aggies are winning not only because of their four fine seniors - guard Danuel House, guard Anthony Collins (who did play in the NCAA tourney while at South Florida), forward Jalen Jones and Caruso - but also because of freshmen D.J. Hogg and Davis.
"They do a good job of sagging and playing the gaps," Niang said. "You have to make outside shots to beat them."
Yet if any coach deserves to go the tournament, it might be Kennedy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease not long after taking the A&M job. While learning to cope with the disease and make do without a number of injured players, Kennedy's first team went 14-18. His next three seasons produced records of 18-15, 18-16 and last year's 21-12 record, which included an overtime loss to Kentucky and an NIT appearance.
Had such overall mediocrity occurred over four football seasons, Kennedy might not have reached this year. But basketball is not yet football in Texas and former A&M athletic director Eric Hyman - who resigned on Jan. 5 - stood by his coach.
"(Kennedy's) a good man who has good values and he's hired some really good assistant coaches," Alan Robert, president of the school's 12th Man Foundation, told the Fort Worth Star Telegram last week. "Thank God our AD had the patience to give him time to get things turned around. It's a win-win situation for us. Everybody in the world loves a winner. Nobody deserves it more than Billy."
Or as freshman Hogg added in the same article: "He's one of the most caring guys I know. He's also a defensive-minded coach who is real smart and knows what he's talking about. He's easy to listen to. You just respect him."
Kennedy respected his senior class so much that he predicted an NCAA bid before the season began, which was just fine with Caruso and his three classmates who began their careers elsewhere: Collins from USF, House from Houston and Jones from SMU.
"If we don't go to the NCAA tournament this year, our fans should be mad," Caruso said.
With Jones and House each scoring 16 or more points a game and Caruso doing all the big and little things that help make good teams great - 7.8 points, five assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game - it's hard to see a scenario in which A&M wouldn't reach March Madness.
And once there, according to Iowa State guard Matt Thomas: "With the way they guard, I think they can play with anyone."
The Aggies proved against Kentucky last season that they could play with anyone. By beating Iowa State, they proved they can beat anyone, especially when the spotlight's bright.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.