March 11, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Nigel Pack (9) dribbles the ball past South Carolina Gamecocks forward Nordin Kapik (24) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Oklahoma topped South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday in Nashville, setting up its third meeting of the season with Texas A&M. This is a game that means a lot more to the Sooners than denying the Aggies their third straight loss of the season.
The 11th-seeded Sooners, playing for their NCAA Tournament life, overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Gamecocks 86-74.
Nijel Pack had 24 points and Derrion Reid had 20 for the Sooners (18-14), who are expected to be one of the final teams eliminated from the 68-team NCAA field before the conference tournament begins.
“We know this is a survive and thrive type of time,” Pack said on SEC Network. “It’s one game at a time. That’s all we focus on.”
Sixth-seeded Texas A&M (21-10), which advanced to the first round of the tournament, defeated the Sooners 83-76 and 75-71 in the regular season.
The latter was the Sooners’ 11th loss in 13 games and seemed to derail their NCAA chances, but they have since won five straight. That streak includes wins over Auburn, Missouri and Texas, both of which are considered in the tournament field after Wednesday’s games.
“We had to take a different route,” Pack said. “It was frustrating at times to go through some tough times, but I’m glad it made the team what it is today.”
The Aggies have won two straight and four of six since a season-worst four-game losing streak in early February, including a setback as far as currently ranked No. 1. 15 Alabama, then-No. 17 Florida and at that time no. 19 Vanderbilt.
“The way we finished the season wasn’t by going up there with the weight of the world on our shoulders,” Aggies coach Bucky McMillan said. “Our players should be able to get up there and play freely.”
The Aggies are making waves with their full game, full court press. Forward Rashaun Agee leads a field of five double-digit scorers with 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Nine players average at least 15 minutes per game.
Agee scored a season-high 26 points and recorded his 12th double-double in a 94-91 triple-inning victory over LSU in Saturday’s regular-season finale. He has averaged 19.0 points per game over his last six games.
The Aggies averaged 29.8 3-point attempts and 10.9 making the SEC Tournament, both good for 14th in Division I.
–Field level media
