"I thought yesterday was really bad," Williams said. "I'm, like, 'We have no chance against Houston if tomorrow you do what you did yesterday. You played like four or five minutes in the first half, second foul's 50 feet from the basket.' We can't absorb that."

Washington's drawback was, indeed, picking up two quick fouls. But his coach's reaction shows how important the sophomore's presence has become to the Aggies' hopes.

Before foul trouble limited him to 7 points Friday, Washington had scored in double figures in five straight games, including a season-high 18 against Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals. During that run, he had two double-doubles, with 10 rebounds each against Ole Miss and Florida.

But it's his defense that has made Washington so important to the Aggies.

"Every coach in America would love to have a Solomon Washington. There's some kids that are tough and they're athletic, but they may not have a winning gene. Meaning, they're not always where the ball is. He's always where the ball is," said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose Cougars (31-4) will face the Aggies (21-14) Sunday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at FedEx Forum Sunday night (7:40 p.m. central time, TNT). "He's got really good intangibles and he's relentless. So he's a perfect fit for that team and what they need done."

During A&M's win over Nebraska, Washington covered everyone from shooting guard Keise Tominaga to center Rienk Mast. During the season, Washington has been put on the opposing team's hottest scorer, regardless of position.

"I think Solo can really guard," Williams said. "His length, his IQ -- he can guard multi positions. We can do a lot of different coverages with him on the ball and off the ball."

With the Aggies facing another up-tempo offense in UH, Washington said he expects he'll be asked to fill a similar role.

" I know I'm going to have to step up big. Probably going to guard each five positions on every possession going down on the basketball game," he said.

Washington doesn't rely solely on his in-your-face defense to get under the skin of opponents. During Friday night's win, Washington irritated Tominaga with his constant talking that the Husker star shoved him, picking up a technical foul.

"I can't remember the exact words I probably said. But I just talk," he said. "It makes the game more fun for me. It's nothing personal ... That's just the way I play, how I like to play the game. Chirping back and forth, it makes the game more entertaining and fun for everybody to watch."

Washington made one of the highlight plays of Friday's win, when he blocked a 3-point attempt, grabbed the ball before it went out of bound and passed it to forward Henry Coleman, who then fed Jace Carter for a layup. It was an elite defensive play -- by a player that was left off the SEC All-Defense team.

That exclusion not only annoyed Washington, but has provided him extra motivation.

"I feel like I'm one of the best defenders in the country. And for me to be left off the defense team, I was a little salty, so I'm just trying to prove I'm the best defender every night," he said.

Carter said the snub of Washington was a huge oversight by the SEC's coaches.

"We feel like Solo is one of the best players in the country. He goes out and shows it every night, playing 1 through 5," Carter said. "His chase-down block is a serious thing now. It doesn't surprise us that he does what he does every night. He should have been on the all-defensive team for sure."

Williams, who admitted he hadn't paid attention to who won postseason awards, was perplexed when told Washington had been left off the All-Defense team.

"He's done such a great job of helping us with the defensive rebounds. And as he's garnered more possessions where we can't take him off the floor defensively, I think his confidence has built and grown offensively on when it's time for him to attack, when it's okay for him to shoot a buzz shot from the perimeter," Williams said.

Then he paused.

"Who was on the defense team?" he asked.