Texas A&M men’s basketball opens the 2026-27 season Tuesday night at Reed Arena, and the Aggies are doing it with a roster that looks a lot different than the one Bucky McMillan guided to an NCAA Tournament berth last year.
McMillan’s first season in College Station ended with Texas A&M at 22-12 overall and 11-7 in SEC play, good for fourth in the conference. The Aggies also put up 86.1 points per game and set several program records along the way. Now comes the next phase, and it starts with a team that has only five returners and 11 newcomers trying to mesh quickly.
PJ Haggerty is the biggest name in that group. He arrives after averaging 23.4 points per game at Kansas State last season, and he gave a preview of what he can bring in the Aggies’ 94-88 exhibition loss to SMU on Oct. 25, finishing with 28 points. Jordan Pope added 15 in that game.
Texas A&M also gets Mackenzie Mgbako back after his first season in College Station was cut to seven games because of injury. With so much turnover, Haggerty and Mgbako figure to be central as McMillan tries to build chemistry and sort out roles early.
Alabama State comes in with a fresh start of its own. The Hornets went 10-22 last season and are under first-year head coach Chris Wright. Tuesday’s game will be the first meeting between the programs.
The opener is set for Tuesday, November 3, at 7 p.m. CT in College Station. It will stream on SEC Network+ and the ESPN App, not on the SEC Network’s main television channel.
Odds were not available as of Monday, Nov. 2.
Texas A&M has the more proven offensive firepower on paper, and the matchup gives the Aggies a chance to lean on that edge while Alabama State adjusts to a new coach. The exhibition loss showed there’s still work to do, but Texas A&M should have enough scoring to start McMillan’s second season on the right foot.
Prediction: Texas A&M 91, Alabama State 68
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There is at least one encouraging development in the backfield, where freshman running back KJ Edwards has shown improvement and given the offense a small lift. Still, with the Aggies needing a sharper showing to steady their season, the pressure on Reed and the rest of the offense only grows as the schedule tightens and the margin for error keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]