AggieYell.com breaks down the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament first round matchup between 4th-seeded Texas A&M (22-10, 11-7 SEC) and 13 seed Yale (22-7, 13-1 Ivy).
Texas A&M projected starters
F Henry Coleman III (Sr.; 6-8, 250; 7.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG)
F Andersson Garcia (Sr.; 6-7, 220; 5.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
G Hayden Hefner (Sr.; 6-6, 190; 4.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG)
G Manny Obaseki (Sr.; 6-4, 200; 6.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG)
G Wade Taylor IV (Sr.; 6, 180; 15.7 PPG, 4.3 APG)
Texas A&M key reserves
F Pharrel Payne (Jr.; 6-9, 250; 9.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG)
F Solmon Washington (Jr.; 6-7, 220; 4.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG)
G Zhuric Phelps (Sr.; 6-4, 190; 14.1 PPG, 5 RPG)
G CJ Wilcher (Sr.; 6-5, 210; 4.4 PPG, .8 RPG)
G Jace Carter (Sr.; 6-6, 225; 3.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
Yale projected starters
F Samson Altean (So.; 6-10, 223; 7.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG)
F Nick Townsend (Jr.; 6-7, 240; 15.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.6 APG)
G John Poulakidas (Sr.; 6-6, 205; 19.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG)
G Bez Mbeng (Sr.; 6-4, 185; 13.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.6 APG)
G Casey Simmons (Jr.; 6-6, 180; 8.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG)
Yale key reserves
G Isaac Celiscar (Fr.; 6-6, 210; 7 PPG, 5.1 RPG)
G Trevor Mullin (So.; 6, 175; 3.2 PPG, 1.1 RPG)
Common opponent: Purdue
A&M beat Purdue 70-66 in Indianapolis on Dec. 14; Yale lost to the Boilermakers at Purdue 82-74 on Nov. 11.
Key matchups
A&M PG Wade Taylor vs. Yale PG Bez Mbeng: The three-time first-team All-SEC point guard in Taylor is going up against the three-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. These two have plenty of hardware to go around. Yale coach James Jones said he believes Taylor will score, but Mbeng has played comparable competition and handled them well. On the other side, A&M coach Buzz Williams thinks Taylor has seen it all against tough SEC opponents and still found ways to put up points.
A&M F Andersson Garcia vs. Yale F Nick Townsend: John Poulakidas is Yale's leading scorer and thrives beyond the arc, but Townsend is Yale's do-everything player. He's their leading rebounder and assist man; as Williams said yesterday, he's a point guard playing forward. Townsend is physical and likes to operate in the post, but he's also able to shoot from distance. That sounds like a job for Garcia (and Solomon Washington), a gritty, tenacious defender who can handle opponents down low and out on the floor.
