Blessed with a nice mix of proven veterans and gifted young pups, the Texas A&M Aggies are back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2011. Billy Kennedy's squad rode its depth, talent and offensive firepower to a share of the 2016 SEC title with Kentucky. Pass-first senior guards Anthony Collins and Alex Caruso set the share-the-wealth tone for A&M. Jalen Jones and Danuel House are terrific 6-foot-7 scorers. And the Aggies' heralded freshman class has been as good as its advanced billing. It's been a breakthrough year in College Station. Do the talent-rich Aggies have a March magic carpet ride in them?
ESPN Insider has your answers, as Joe Lunardi has enlisted a team of Bracketologists to compile advanced metrics, key scouting intel and best- and worst-case tournament scenarios for all 68 teams to help you make smart picks in your bracket.
TOURNEY PROFILE
Best wins: Texas, Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor, LSU, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Worst losses: at Arkansas, at Alabama
Regular season conference finish: tied-1st, SEC
Polls and metrics: Texas A&M, the 2016 SEC co-champs, entered last week's SEC tourney as the No. 17 team in the BPI rankings and was ranked 17th in the AP and USA Today polls.
All-time tourney record: 9-13
Coach's tourney record: Billy Kennedy (1-1)
Bracketology chart | BPI information
PERSONNEL
(Note: Player statistics are through games of March 6.)
STARTING LINEUP
C Tyler Davis (11.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG)
F Jalen Jones (15.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG)
F Danuel House (15.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG)
G Alex Caruso (7.8 PPG, 5.1 APG)
G Anthony Collins (4.8 PPG, 4.5 APG)
Key Bench Players
C Tonny Trocha-Morelos (6.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG)
G Admon Gilder (6.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG)
F DJ Hogg (6.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG)
Biggest strength: The Aggies program hasn't been in Bracketville in five years, but this team starts four seniors, and these experienced hands don't figure to be awed by the enormity of the moment. Aside from the collective experience of its starting five, an obvious strength of this team is its offensive efficiency and explosiveness. Three starters average in double-figures, led by 6-foot-7 seniors Jones and House.
Biggest weakness: Texas A&M needs to defend the 3-point stripe with dogged determination. In its first five losses of the season, A&M allowed 54 made 3-balls. The Aggies can't do that in the NCAAs or it'll be pack-away-the-jerseys time.
Best players: House and Jones. House possesses NBA size, a silky smooth jumper and a fearless nature. That combination of traits has NBA scouts comparing him to former NBAer Glen Rice. Jones is a matchup nightmare too; he arrived as an undersized 4 man but has polished his ability to shoot the 3 and can score in a variety of ways.
X factor: Davis is an old-fashioned low-post center who chose A&M over Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, Baylor and Texas. He's the crown jewel of A&M's killer freshman class. The 6-foot-10, 265-pounder is a double-double threat every time he steps on the court.
SCOUTING REPORT
Offensive approach: The Aggies subscribe to the strength in numbers approach on offense. Kennedy's offense features three double-figure scorers in Jones, House and Davis and five other guys who tally between 4.8 and 7.8 points per ballgame. The fact that they are blessed with so many scoring options makes them difficult to defend.
Defensive approach: Kennedy throws it all at opponents -- some man-to-man, some matchup zone and even some trapping defenses. And Kennedy has quality depth, allowing him to sub like an NHL coach and keep fresh legs on the court at all times.
How they beat you: Texas A&M's roster drips with athleticism, so you don't want to get in a track meet with this bunch. Caruso and Collins can both handle the rock and look to push the tempo after both makes and misses.
How you beat them: The to-do list is pretty simple, but extensive: Limit the Aggies transition by hustling back on defense; play off of point guard Collins, because he is a reluctant outside shooter but adept at slashing; be ready for Texas A&M's trapping defenses; and be thick-skinned, because Texas A&M is going to go on scoring runs.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 6.)
NATIONAL RANKS
Offensive efficiency, 32nd (113.1)
Defensive efficiency, 17th (94.8)
3-point percentage, 143rd (35.3)
3-point percentage D, 122nd (33.6)
Free throw rate, 117th (38.6)
Free throw rate D, 79th (32.4)
TO percentage, 114th (17.3)
TO percentage D, 15th (21.7)
Good stat: 94.8 defensive efficiency
Texas A&M is an experienced team that is really committed at the defensive end of the floor. The Aggies' depth and length on the wings and under the hoop makes them tough to score on and also allows them to turn opponents on a regular basis.
Bad stat: 38.6 free throw rate
The Aggies can get a little too jump shot happy at times, limiting their number of charity stripe trips in the process.
HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?
Best-case scenario: Elite Eight
The Aggies have beaten a number of NCAA tournament regulars this season (Kentucky, Gonzaga, Texas, Baylor, K-State and Vanderbilt). They are hungry to keep proving the doubters wrong and have the size, depth and talent to make a deep run in the tournament.
Worst-case scenario: One and done
These players haven't been in the Big Dance. The Aggies have had a great season, but lots of newbies to March Madness could end up being first-round upset victims.