#2 Alabama at #24 Texas A&M Game Thread

The 2023 regular season SEC champs get the early call on CBS today, as the Crimson Tide tip-off this morning against the Aggies of Texas A&M. It took until the final Saturday of the season, but the top two teams in the SEC are finally going to meet on the hardwood. In what should be a continuation of surprisingly high stakes late season match-ups between the two, both teams are looking to end the season on a high note before postseason play begins with the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week.

There’s also the intriguing storyline of the battle between both coaches for SEC Coach of the Year. In any other season, Nate Oats would likely be a lock to capture the illustrious award for the second time in three seasons, but with the current media crusade against Oats and his program, a win for A&M today would likely give the nod to Buzz Williams - an undoubtedly deserving candidate himself for the midseason turnaround the Aggies had this year.

There has been some speculation as to whether or not Alabama would ‘rest the starters’ in this game, given that Alabama likely has nothing to play for with the regular season title in tow and a one-seed in both postseason tournaments locked up. However, with the rather spotty play in recent games, I would expect Oats to give his guys their usual minutes today. This will be a great test and tune-up for the bigger games that lie ahead.

Perhaps due to the lack of clarity on the rotation today, Texas A&M is actually favored by a point and a half. The game will tip at 11:00 AM CST and will be televised on CBS. Enjoy that beautiful CBS college basketball theme, because we will be hearing a lot of it shortly.