Texas A&M busted brackets and crushed the dreams of Tar Heels fans all over the country.
Humblings come in many forms, but not often do they come as a blowout. North Carolina was fresh off a National Championship last year, looked poised to go on another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Afterall, the Tar Heels are college basketball elite and it’s assumed that Roy Williams will have his team ready to dispose of opponents on the first weekend of Madness.
Texas A&M had other plans, blowing the doors off North Carolina in as brutal a humbling we’ve seen in a very long time.
Arizona and Virginia losing to lower seeded teams was one thing, but North Carolina’s loss to the Aggies was downright embarrassing. It’s acceptable that a higher seed can get caught napping in the first game of the weekend, but nothing implied the Tar Heels would get obliterated the way they did on Sunday night.
It’ll go down as the largest margin of loss for Roy Williams at UNC and means the defending champs have been crossed off the bracket before the first weekend was over.
At one point, the Aggies were in such control that they turned a full-court pass on a turnover into a Slam Dunk contest entry.
That’s not supposed to happen in a game, let alone one where North Carolina is on the other side of the court. That’s disrespect on such a high level that it’s almost impossible to comprehend.
Now the question is how deep can Texas A&M take this? Up next is a matchup against a Michigan team living on borrowed time following a buzzer beater against Houston. Another upset win by the Aggies would pit them against any combination of Xavier, Gonzaga, or Florida State — all winnable games the way A&M has been playing.
One area of concern would be the way opponents that otherwise were manhandled for most of the game crept back into it at the end. Against Providence, A&M had to hold off the Friars late surge and it looked like the same might happen against North Carolina. Perhaps the Aggies have rectified the problem, as once the clamp was down on the Tar Heels, it was all over.
If that can happen again against Michigan — a beatable opponent — all of a sudden Texas A&M is cooking with gas.
Next: 12 Biggest Cinderellas In March Madness History
Luck only takes you so far in March, and the Aggies seem too talented to coast now that they’re Sweet 16-bound. The destruction of basketball royalty on Sunday is a confidence booster but there’s still a lot that needs to be done before A&M’s miracle season ends with them cutting down the nets in April.