Auburn took a tough one on the chin. After losing to No. 9 Duke and No. 6 Florida, the Tigers just picked up their third loss of the season—this time, by double digits, 83-72. And it came at the hands of a team outside the top 10 for the first time all year. Sitting pretty at home, holding onto their regular-season title, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers probably wasn’t expecting No. 22 Texas A&M to roll in and shake things up. But the Aggies had other plans.

Texas A&M came in hungry, desperate to snap its four-game losing streak and knowing a win could boost its NCAA Tournament seeding. And they did come out swinging—jumping to a 7-0 lead and never trailing. Auburn had their moments, cutting the deficit to a single possession, but the Aggies held firm and sent them packing.

Now, statistically, Auburn actually outshot Texas A&M—50% from the field to A&M’s 43.1% and 40.9% from three to their 36%. But the Aggies absolutely dominated the boards (41-25) and crushed Auburn in offensive rebounds (24-9). Add in 18 points off turnovers, and that’s how you steal a win.

Post-game, coach Pearl had thoughts. “There’s no excuse to give up that many offensive rebounds. I give Texas A&M all the credit… But we’re better than that. Not tonight.”

Sounds like a backhanded compliment, huh? Like, yes, you won, but we’re still better. Maybe it’s just tough to give full props when you weren’t expecting to take an L. Or maybe it’s because Pearl knows this loss is unlikely to shake up Auburn’s seeding. Yes, that’s right!

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Despite the upset loss, Auburn fans can chill. This one’s not knocking them off their throne. Pearl’s squad is still sitting pretty as the projected No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament Bracketology. And with a 16-3 record in Quad 1 games and a combined 21-3 across Quads 1 and 2, the Tigers have already locked up the SEC title, leaving teams like Duke, Houston, and Tennessee chasing shadows for that top spot.

Even if Auburn stumbles again in their regular-season finale against No. 7 Alabama on Saturday, Palm still has them as the No. 1 overall seed. So, yes, this loss stings, but in the grand scheme, Auburn’s still got the upper hand, and the coach had already made their postgame plans clear. Meanwhile, the Aggies had more than one reason to win and celebrate.

Bruce Pearl’s opponents had more than just a win to celebrate

It was a big night for the Aggies, and there was no way they were letting it end with an L. Sure, they hadn’t won since February 15 against Arkansas, but tonight they had to. It was their Senior Night. The final home game of the season in Reed Arena. And, most importantly, Wade Taylor IV’s moment.

Out of the eight seniors honored, Taylor IV has been one for the books- just 9 points away from breaking Texas A&M’s all-time scoring record held by Bernard King. The Aggies made sure to send him off in style.

After securing a win behind Zhuric Phelps’19-point explosion off the bench and Taylor IV’s 16-point performance, the program retired Taylor’s jersey. He joined Acie Law IV as one of the only Aggies with his jersey hanging in the rafters in front of a crowd of 12,257, featuring none other than Heisman winner Johnny Manziel and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans—two Aggie legends themselves.

You know, technically, No. 4 isn’t officially retired due to A&M’s athletic policy, but it’s hanging in the rafters where it belongs. And Wade’s teammates made sure to give him his flowers.“Wade is a special player,” Phelps said. “He displays it day in and day out. I wasn’t surprised to see his jersey up in the rafters. Nobody does it like him.”

Now, the senior got one last regular-season game at LSU on Saturday, and he’s got a real shot at etching his name into Aggie history. Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl & Co. have got their own big game that same day against Alabama. And while a loss wouldn’t technically change much for their NCAA seeding, when it comes to rivalry games, it always matters.