Hoping to carry on momentum from a massive win over Alabama in Gainesville the Florida Gators will have their opportunity to command the top of the SEC when they take on the Texas A&M Aggies in what is shockingly the biggest game remaining on the regular season schedule.
Entering the 2025-26 season you would have never expected Florida’s trip to college station to be one of the most important games of their season. Previous head coach Buzz Williams took the Maryland position, but it was rather late in the cycle–because Maryland made it to a Sweet 16 (where they lost to Florida), Kevin Willard was unable to make the move he was ultimately to make–taking the Villanova job. With Villanova hiring late, Maryland then opened late, and after Buzz Williams left Texas A&M to take it, Samford’s Bucky McMillan was one of the last hires of the cycle.
Known for his frantic pace and chaotic yet beautiful style, the odds were somewhat stacked against McMillan in his first season as he had almost an entire roster to refill, and he was starting the task after hundreds and hundreds of players had already entered the portal and found new homes. He was able to get a few solid pieces here and there, but it certainly didn’t look like a roster that could compete for an SEC title. Due to this the Aggies were picked to finish 13th in the preseason SEC poll, partially due to the unproven head coach and partially due to the roster whose chemistry was going to be questioned.
Well, as is often the case–polls are wrong.
Texas A&M had some growing pains in non-conference play losing to Oklahoma State, UCF, and SMU while having a close call against Montana, and they weren’t able to get any marquee wins that would suggest they’d be able to hang with the big boys of the SEC. They even lost Mackenzie Mgbako, one of their biggest portal acquisitions, to a season ending injury that made things seem bleak for the rest of their outlook. Things must have clicked at some point as the Aggies started league play with three straight wins, and though they dropped a double overtime game to Tennessee everything else has been flawless. The Aggies now sit atop of the SEC standings at 7-1, just a half game ahead of Florida at 7-2.
Texas A&M will play Alabama on Wednesday which will be a tough test, so they will either enter Saturday’s game against the Gators tied or one game ahead. Either way, this game will decide who leads the SEC, and given the records a tiebreak could very well be in order which adds to the importance of this game. Notably, the Aggies will have to play the speedy Crimson Tide midweek while the Gators get a “bye” week with their last game coming on Sunday before getting the Saturday contest. Before the season it looked like the Gators had just about as favorable a schedule as possible and somehow the basketball gods shined on them even more as this was not expected to be a challenging game before the season but now looks to be, and Florida gets a massive rest advantage.
Remember Buzz Williams basketball at Texas A&M? The Aggies were built on grit, toughness, and a cloud of dust–trying to grind the game to powder, missing shots and battling on the glass while trying to turn every 40 minutes into a fist fight.
Take that image and flip it 180 degrees, as things couldn’t be any more different under Bucky McMillan.
At Samford, they called the style “Bucky Ball,” something that has followed him to Texas A&M. What is Bucky Ball? It’s playing a fast, analytical style, hunting as many quality threes as possible in transition and using full court presses and traps to heat up the opponent and try to force turnovers. With the coaching change Texas A&M has gone from one of the more difficult watches in the country to one of the most aesthetically pleasing with the Aggies getting up and down and putting up points, and often allowing them, in a hurry. Without one true star the Aggies have six players averaging double digits in scoring and they are 8th in the country in assists percentage, meaning the ball moves and they make defenses work. Florida has done a great job of locking down star players and heliocentric offenses recently but Texas A&M is a whole new style, passing and moving with pace as they try to shift defenses and force breakdowns, and Florida will be tested in rotation with their bigger lineup that will have to be agile.
The fast-paced style is also evidenced with the Aggies’ substitution patterns as players play short, high-intensity shifts before getting a blow. Ruben Dominguez leads the Aggies in minutes at 25.3 per game, and for reference the Gators have four starters that average more than that with their fifth, Rueben Chinyelu, just below.
While they don’t have one clear star running things, there are several players you should be aware of starting with Rashaun Agee who leads the Aggies in scoring with 13.9 per game after transferring from USC. A 6’8”, 235 pound forward, Agee is quick enough to play with the tempo Texas A&M requires while having some muscle to bang on the interior. Often playing the five, he’ll look to use his speed advantage in transition while using his low center of gravity to push Florida’s taller centers further from the paint.
One of the most interesting players on the roster is Ruben Dominguez who came over to America along with many of the European pros this offseason. While he didn’t get much coverage in the national media, keen observers of European basketball (like myself, who noted his addition in the preseason) knew he’d be set to impact college basketball at a high level. Playing in the Spanish ACB he was a productive shot maker and he’s brought those skills to Texas A&M where he has hit 43% of his shots from deep. A 6’6” wing, Dominguez doesn’t have a ton of juice with the ball in his hands but he is a threat to shoot in the moment he crosses halfcourt and if the Gators give him an inch of room he could take advantage.
The biggest X-factor for Texas A&M is Pop Isaacs, a 6’2” guard who was excellent in the 2023-24 season for Texas Tech before transferring in 2024-25 to Creighton–though he quickly suffered a season-ending injury. Getting a fresh start at Texas A&M Isaacs is still finding his footing and hasn’t yet shown consistency but he is a threat every night to go for 20+. A crafty shot maker, he’s someone the Aggies can go to if they want to pick on a matchup.
Florida will have to be prepared for the Aggies to play with pace and hunt early threes. A few numbers you should know–Texas A&M is 12th in the country in offensive possession length, 27th in three-point attempts, and 30th in three-point percentage, and these numbers paint an accurate picture of just what they’re looking to do. Once they get a rebound or steal they’ll run wide and look for early threes and any jogging back on defense can be catastrophic. Since Florida will have such a massive size advantage the biggest way Texas A&M can compete is by dominating the three-point category and they have shown they are capable of doing that against everyone, and Florida, who is 349th nationally in three-point percentage, is susceptible to getting dominated in that category.
The Aggies will also make things uncomfortable with their defense as they will press, trap, and generally create havoc. Being undersized, this is their way of making up for the deficiency and they will try to get steals and deflections before their opponent can get the ball inside. Look for them to be even more aggressive in this area against the Gators as they know if Florida gets deep post catches there won’t be much they can do.
This game isn’t just huge for the standings, it will also be a delightful mix of styles with two teams playing some of the more extreme strategies in the league and you will not want to miss it.
Florida and Texas A&M tip off Saturday, February 7th at 8:30 PM ET and it will be televised on SEC Network.