Early Quad 1 opportunity for A&M comes in Stillwater on Sunday

March is a long way away.

But it’s never too early to think about the Madness, not even in early November.

That’s where Texas A&M’s focus is as the Aggies (2-0) travel to Gallagher-Iba Arena for a Quadrant 1 road game against Oklahoma State (1-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

“It’ll be a Quad 1 game, so it’ll be a really tough game,” A&M head coach Bucky McMillan said Thursday. “I know they went to that exhibition and beat Auburn pretty good in Alabama.

“It would be a great win for us. It would be an incredible win.”

In a non-conference schedule littered with “buy” opponents, Sunday is one of five opportunities vs. power conference teams before the SEC gauntlet begins on Jan. 3.

A&M must also be keenly aware that Oklahoma State is an obvious step up in competition over the Demons and Tigers.

Rey Romo, TexAgs

Texas A&M and Oklahoma State last met on Jan. 25, 2020. Quenton Jackson (pictured), Josh Nebo and Emmanuel Miller tied for the team lead with 11 points each in a 73-62 loss at Reed Arena.

Picked to finish 12th in the 16-team Big 12, Oklahoma State officially opened 2025-26 with a 95-71 win over Oral Roberts on Tuesday, but the Cowboys made plenty of preseason noise by beating No. 20 Auburn in an Oct. 15 exhibition.

Additionally, OSU was without guards Isaiah Coleman and Anthony Roy and forward Lefteris Mantzoukas vs. ORU, but reinforcements appear to be on the way.

Coleman is expected to play on Sunday, while Roy and Mantzoukas are considered day-to-day.

“They had some guys out that I think are going to be back for the game,” McMillan said. “They play really fast. Top-15 pace in the country. I expect it to be a really uptempo game.”

Aggies are growing accustomed to uptempo basketball.

Through two wins over Northwestern State and Texas Southern, Bucky Ball is averaging 101.0 points per contest, and on Thursday, the Aggies cracked the century mark for the first time since 2021.

Forward Rashaun Agee and guard Rubén Dominguez lead the Maroon & White at 14.0 points per game, but in both of A&M’s early-season wins, the Ags have had five individuals reach double figures each night.

“I don’t think about it because I’m trying to get to 120 points,” McMillan said. “That’s my mindset. I don’t really think about 100.”

More impressive is their relentless style of defense that has forced 39 turnovers, 27 of which have resulted from steals.

Picking off the Pokes might enable them to steal a win in Stillwater.

“It’s going to take one of our best efforts,” McMillan said. “We’re going to have to really dial in and overcome a lot to make it happen.”

Doing so would be an early indicator of a possible path to March.