IN! A&M is dancing as a No. 9 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament

A five-game winning streak in March proved sufficient for Texas A&M to be included in March Madness.

On Selection Sunday, the Aggies were chosen among the 68 basketball teams comprising the NCAA Tournament field.

A&M (20-14), a No. 9 seed, will face No. 8 seed Nebraska (23-10) on Friday in Memphis as part of the South regional.

The announcement, though not unexpected, relieved stress that built up during a five-game losing streak in February.

A&M appeared destined for the NCAA Tournament after posting an 85-69 victory over then-No. 6 Tennessee at Reed Arena on Feb. 10.

But A&M suffered ensuing losses to Vanderbilt (74-73), Alabama (100-75), Arkansas (78-71), then-No.5 Tennessee (86-51) and then-No. 18 South Carolina (70-68).

That skid left the Aggies precariously sitting on the proverbial “bubble.”

Indeed, at that point, many noted NCAA Tournament “bracketologists” — like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi — projected A&M would be omitted from the NCAA field.

However, the Aggies closed the SEC regular season by defeating Georgia (70-56), Mississippi State (75-69) and Ole Miss (86-60).

Then, in the second round of the SEC postseason tournament, A&M won a rematch with Ole Miss, 80-71. The Aggies followed with a quarterfinal victory over Kentucky, 97-87.

Though they were eliminated by Florida, 95-90, in the semifinals on Saturday, most bracketologists included A&M in the field on the strength of seven Quadrant 1 victories.

Yet, some angst remained because the Selection Committee had let down A&M the previous two seasons despite reaching the SEC Tournament finals.

Two years ago, A&M won three SEC Tournament games but was not chosen for the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies settled for the NIT and went on to reach the finals at Madison Square Garden.

Last year, the Aggies again posted two wins in the SEC Tournament. There was speculation A&M would likely be seeded No. 4 or No. 5. Instead, they were a No. 7 seed.

Any angst they had this year proved unfounded.