LOS ANGELES — Texas A&M’s path to a N.C.A.A. West Regional semifinal at Staples Center was by no means a direct one. The Aggies endured losing streaks of five and three games. So many players were suspended — six in all, one of whom ultimately was banished — or injured that Coach Billy Kennedy says he lost track of who was available “plenty of times.”
Their season-long roller coaster carried them to a No. 5 ranking in The Associated Press poll in mid-December before a plunge that left them without a single vote in the final pretournament rankings.