In one of the worst performances this season, the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies lost 76-59 against the tenth-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions and exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round.
Andrew Funk had the shooting game of his career on Penn State’s biggest stage in more than two decades.
Funk went 8 of 10 on 3-pointers and scored 27 points in the Nittany Lions’ first NCAA Tournament victory in 22 years.
The loss also prevents the Aggies from playing No. 2 seed Texas in the second round of the Midwest Region on Saturday.
Texas A&M (25-10) had won 10 of 12 as it entered its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. The seventh-seeded Aggies lost in the first round for only the second time in nine appearances since 2006.
Dexter Dennis scored 19 points to lead A&M, which shot 34%. The Aggies had battled back from a 6-5 start to the season that included a couple of bad nonconference losses. They ended up second in the Southeastern Conference and reached the league tournament title game.
Here’s some social media reaction to the loss:
Penn State has won a NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2001 pic.twitter.com/vG4tcVT6m0
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 17, 2023
Penn State-Texas will play a basketball game Saturday. Most significant athletic contest between those two schools since the 1972 Cotton Bowl.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 17, 2023
If you complain about your seed and get waxed by your lower seeded opponent in the first round you should have a 1-year postseason ban.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 17, 2023
The Aggies ruined a second-round game against the Longhorns. How much fun would that have been???
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 17, 2023
NO. 10 PENN STATE UPSETS NO. 7 TEXAS A&M 76-59. pic.twitter.com/ZpcrCYjN7F
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2023
..@BarstoolTexasAM I caught this 1! 😂 https://t.co/VFLgz08rqU
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) March 17, 2023
Cannot believe Texas A&M is throwing so that they can duck Texas.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 17, 2023
Maybe Ross Bjork was right.
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) March 17, 2023
The next Texas A&M vs. Texas game will be played at Kyle Field
The things Texas A&M is willing to do to not play Texas is incredible. You have to admire the level of commitment to the bit.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) March 17, 2023
No context story of this Penn State/Texas A&M game so far pic.twitter.com/n1tkTSq5ac
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) March 17, 2023
A team that looked down and out, battled back to win a program-record 15 conference games. Helluva run.
— Ben Peck (@TheBenPeck) March 17, 2023
Plus, almost everyone on the roster has the chance to come back if they want to. Fire me UP! 🔥 #GigEm https://t.co/2ck1yF9O6Q
A&M fans were unbearable on Twitter all season and demanded that everyone and their mother respected them
— Barstool SEC (@SECBarstool) March 17, 2023
Then they turned around and got blown out of the building in the first round by a 10 seed
Coming into this NCAA Tournament game, the Aggies shot 38.9% of their shots at the rim, which ranked 9th in the nation.
— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) March 17, 2023
Today, Aggies shot eight of 59 at the rim.
What a night for Andrew Funk 🔥 pic.twitter.com/biiqSnIDw7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2023
16-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost by 21 points against 1-seed Alabama.
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) March 17, 2023
7-seed Texas A&M-College Station just went down by 23 points against 10-seed Penn State.
In the past five days, Penn State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 22 years and nearly won the Big Ten Tournament.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2023
If the school likes winning, it should get a long-term deal done with Micah Shrewsberry ASAP. https://t.co/xSR1RCk8ta
Fans in Texas that were hoping to see TEXAS vs TEXAS A & M forget about it unless a miracle takes place as the Nittany Lions r dominating the Aggies 69-48 with 4 plus minutes remaining .Stock of Penn St Coach Mich Shrewsberry @Coach_Shrews on the Rise Baby !
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 17, 2023
For the first time since 2001, the Penn State Nittany Lions have won an NCAA Tournament game. What a beatdown of Texas A&M.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 17, 2023
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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