For the first time in more than a decade, Penn State men’s basketball is going dancing.

The Nittany Lions head into the bracket as a No. 10 seed, eyeing a matchup against No. 7-seed Texas A&M at 9:55 p.m. Thursday.

On paper, the Aggies should pose a challenge to Penn State. No. 17 Texas A&M (25-9) enters the tournament coming off of an SEC Tournament championship loss to Alabama, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.

The Aggies boast a program-best 15-3 regular-season record against conference opponents but just a 10-6 mark in nonconference games. Notably, the team is 15-1 on its home court but 7-4 on the road and just 3-4 at a neutral site.

Texas A&M’s poor play against non-conference opponents early in the season — including a 28-point loss to Colorado and close defeats to Memphis and Wofford — likely hurt the team’s NCAA Tournament seeding.

The Aggies rank 139th in the country by averaging 73.2 points per game, just ahead of the Nittany Lions’ 72.3 points per game. However, Texas A&M averages more converted free throws (19.2) and free throw attempts (25.3) than any other Division I program this season. The team’s free throw percentage, 75.9%, ranks 37th in the country.

Penn State should maintain a distinct advantage from beyond the three-point line against Texas A&M. The Nittany Lions rank No. 6 among Division I programs by averaging 10.4 made three-pointers per game, landing far ahead of the Aggies’ 6.1 converted threes per content. Penn State’s average attempts (27 per game) and conversion rate (38.5%) far outpace Texas A&M’s 18.6 attempts and 32.8% clip.

Defensively, Texas A&M holds the edge by allowing just 65.6 points per game, ranking No. 54 among Division I programs. Penn State allows 68.2 points per game (No. 120).

Thursday’s matchup will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Aggies and the Nittany Lions. Texas A&M holds a 4-0 record in the series, most recently winning 98-87 at Bryce Jordan Center in November 2017.

Penn State will have to figure out a way to contain Aggies sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV. He is the team’s top playmaker, averaging 16.5 points and four assists per game, and earned first-team All-SEC.

Aggies coach Buzz Williams has his third program in the NCAA Tournament, after getting there five times with Marquette from 2009-13 and three times (2017-19). This will be the first NCAA appearance for Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry as a head coach, but he was an assistant at Butler when the Bulldogs reached back-to-back national championship games in 2010-11.

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