This is an opinion column.
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Texas A&M might have knocked off No.1 Auburn, but the Aggies’ students managed to lose all respect in the game’s final seconds.
They were going to storm the court, but then got scared. Really, Texas A&M?
No one told me the Aggies were so soft.
Isn’t it a military school or something?
They couldn’t keep Texas A&M off of Kyle Field after that victory against Alabama football, but the soul of the SEC is changing and not for the best. Something isn’t healthy about any of this, and it’s growing like a problematic rash.
Texas A&M upset Auburn 83-72 on Tuesday in Aggieland. It was the worst game of the season for the Tigers, but they earned an off night after already wrapping up the SEC regular-season championship.
Auburn is back in action on Saturday for the final game of its SEC victory tour. Something tells me Johni Broome and Co. will be a little more enthusiastic for rival Alabama. Against Texas A&M, they looked like a team resting up for the postseason.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said the scouting report is out on the Tigers, but I’m not so convinced. Perhaps Pearl is already preparing for the postseason instead of worrying about game’s that don’t matter to the Tigers.
Auburn trailed by 11 with under a minute to play. That’s when Texas A&M’s students began to crowd the court at the Cox-McFerrin Center. It wasn’t a big game for Auburn, but for Texas A&M it was a chance to make a little history.
The fans wanted to rush the court after knocking off a No.1-ranked team for the first time on campus. They should have done it, too, but then something unexpected happened. Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams prevented the party by motioning to the students to remain in the stands.
And the students complied with the directive. Weak stuff.
Give Williams no credit, and award him no points. He ruined once-in-a-lifetime memories for the students of his university, right?
I mean, why even spend all that money on tuition if you’re not going to storm the court against the No.1-ranked team in the country?
Was no one other than me curious to see what happened when Texas A&M’s student body had a chance to welcome Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara to College Station?
What’s college basketball without a little March madness before the conference tournaments? It’s a world none of us want to imagine.
Let the itchy students have their fun.
Not at Texas A&M. Not this time, and perhaps never again.
Auburn has been ranked No.1 for eight straight weeks. If not now, Texas A&M, then when?
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will claim victory, but that’s a loss for everyone else.
The broadcasters calling the game for ESPN speculated that Texas A&M’s coach didn’t want to pay the $100,000 fine for students pouring onto the field. Is Texas A&M suddenly too poor to pay its fines?
Storming the court should be the new status symbol in the SEC. In this age of NIL, only the richest schools can afford to waste money on the students.
The students were ready, but then Williams walked over to Auburn’s Pearl with about 45 seconds left in the game and asked Auburn’s coach to let the clock run out. Pearl went along with the directive.
In an effort to keep Texas A&M’s students off the court, Auburn’s coach told his players to stop fouling.
But why?
Storming the court used to be a rite of passage for undergrads. What changed? Why did Texas A&M’s coach want to keep his students off the court?
Perhaps he did it in the name of public health.
Was Williams worried that Texas A&M’s students might give his players the measles?
I’m told that no one takes vaccines in Texas anymore. If that’s the case, and I’m just speculating here, then maybe Williams is a hero for preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
Take 100 percent of your shots, kids, and I don’t mean the ones from beyond the 3-point line.
*** This public service announcement was in no way endorsed by the current government of the United States of America.
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
