Texas A&M, the No. 12 team in the Top 25 And 1, rallied from 18 down to beat the Sooners
I’ve spent time this week on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast explaining how all road games in the SEC project as Quadrant 1 opportunities — except for road games at South Carolina. In other words, almost everything in the league is hard away from home, and even more so when you’re missing your leading scorer, which is why what Texas A&M did Wednesday night at Oklahoma was especially impressive.
Final score: Aggies 80, Sooners 78.
With leading scorer Wade Taylor IV sidelined with an undisclosed injury, Texas A&M fell behind by 18 points in the second half on the road and seemed headed for its third loss of the season. Instead, the Aggies rallied and won their ninth straight game, largely because Zhuric Phelps got a career-high 34 points — including the go-ahead and game-winning 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining.
The come-from-behind/unlikely win improved Texas A&M to 13-2 overall, 2-0 in the SEC. The Aggies are now 4-1 in Quadrant 1, 3-1 in Quadrant 2 — or 7-2 in the first two quadrants with five victories over top-50 teams in the NET. It’s a resume that has Texas A&M at No. 12 in Thursday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn remains No. 1 for the second consecutive day.
In total, 10 SEC schools are now in the Top 25 And 1 — specifically No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Alabama, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Mississippi State, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 24 Georgia and No. 26 Oklahoma. That’s three of the top five, five of the top eight and seven of the top 12 all coming from the same league, which is among the reasons many believe an SEC member will win the national championship this year, ending a title-drought for the conference that started after Anthony Davis led Kentucky to six victories in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss
Connecticut
| 1 |
 Auburn |
Johni Broome finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s 87-82 win at Texas. The Tigers’ next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | — | 14-1 |
| 2 |
 Iowa St. |
Tamin Lipsey finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 82-59 win over Utah. The Cyclones’ next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | — | 13-1 |
| 3 |
 Duke |
Cooper Flagg finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 76-47 win over Pitt. The Blue Devils’ next game is Saturday against Notre Dame. | — | 13-2 |
| 4 |
 Florida |
Alijah Martin finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday’s 73-43 win over Tennessee. The Gators’ next game is Saturday at Arkansas. | — | 14-1 |
| 5 |
 Alabama |
Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists in Wednesday’s 88-68 win at South Carolina. The Crimson Tide’s next game is Saturday at Texas A&M. | — | 13-2 |
| 6 |
 Marquette |
Chase Ross finished with 27 points and six steals in Tuesday’s 74-66 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles’ next game is Tuesday at DePaul. | — | 14-2 |
| 7 |
 Tennessee |
Chaz Lanier was 3-of-16 from the field in Tuesday’s 73-43 loss at Florida. The Vols’ next game is Saturday at Texas. | — | 14-1 |
| 8 |
 Miss. St. |
RJ Melendez finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 76-64 win at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs’ next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | — | 14-1 |
| 9 |
 Michigan St. |
Szymon Zapala finished with 15 points and two blocks in Friday’s 69-62 win at Ohio State. The Spartans’ next game is Thursday against Washington. | — | 12-2 |
| 10 |
 Kentucky |
Otega Oweh was 3-of-13 from the field in Tuesday’s 82-69 loss at Georgia. The Wildcats’ next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | — | 12-3 |
| 11 |
 Illinois |
Ben Humrichous finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday’s 91-52 win over Penn State. The Illini’s next game is Saturday against USC. | — | 12-3 |
| 12 |
 Texas A&M |
Zhuric Phelps finished with 34 points and three steals in Wednesday’s 80-78 win at Oklahoma. The Aggies’ next game is Saturday against Alabama. | — | 13-2 |
| 13 |
 Kansas |
Hunter Dickinson finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s 74-55 win over Arizona State. The Jayhawks’ next game is Saturday at Cincinnati. | — | 11-3 |
| 14 |
 Oregon |
Jackson Shelstad finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Sunday’s 83-79 win over Maryland. The Ducks’ next game is Thursday at Ohio State. | — | 13-2 |
| 15 |
 Purdue |
Braden Smith finished with 22 points and seven assists in Sunday’s 79-61 win over Northwestern. The Boilermakers’ next game is Thursday at Rutgers. | — | 11-4 |
| 16 |
 Memphis |
PJ Haggerty finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Sunday’s 68-64 win over North Texas. The Tigers’ next game is Saturday against East Carolina. | — | 12-3 |
| 17 |
 Ole Miss |
Malik Dia finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday’s 72-64 win at Arkansas. The Rebels’ next game is Saturday against LSU. | 1 | 13-2 |
| 18 |
 Michigan |
Vladislav Goldin finished with 36 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 94-75 win at UCLA. The Wolverines’ next game is Sunday against Washington. | 1 | 12-3 |
| 19 |
 UConn |
Alex Karaban missed two free throws in the final seconds of Wednesday’s 68-66 loss at Villanova. The Huskies’ next game is Saturday at Georgetown. | 2 | 12-4 |
| 20 |
 UCLA |
Dylan Andrews was 1-of-7 from the field in Tuesday’s 94-75 loss to Michigan. The Bruins’ next game is Friday at Maryland. | — | 11-4 |
| 21 |
 Gonzaga |
Ben Gregg finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Wednesday’s 93-80 win over San Diego. The Zags’ next game is Saturday against Washington State. | — | 13-4 |
| 22 |
 Houston |
Emanuel Sharp finished with 14 points and three steals in Monday’s 65-46 win over TCU. The Cougars’ next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | — | 11-3 |
| 23 |
 Utah St. |
Mason Falslev finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 85-78 win at San Jose State. The Aggies’ next game is Saturday against Boise State. | — | 15-1 |
| 24 |
 Georgia |
Asa Newell finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s 82-69 win over Kentucky. The Bulldogs’ next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | 1 | 13-2 |
| 25 |
 Wisconsin |
John Blackwell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Monday’s 75-63 win at Rutgers. The Badgers’ next game is Friday against Minnesota. | 1 | 12-3 |
| 26 |
 Oklahoma |
Kobe Elvis was 0-of-3 from the field in Wednesday’s 80-78 loss to Texas A&M. The Sooners’ next game is Saturday at Georgia. | 2 | 13-2 |
