Quickley Scores 30 as No. 8 Kentucky Tops Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Immanuel Quickley swears he had no idea he’d made a career-best eight 3-pointers on Tuesday night until he looked at the box score after the game.
“I really thought I had four and then I looked at it and said, `I don’t remember any of those,” he said.
Quickley also set a career-high with 30 points thanks to his hot long-range shooting to lead No. 8 Kentucky to its seventh straight win, 69-60, over Texas A&M.
While he didn’t seem to be aware of what kind of night he was having, his teammates certainly were.
“Super hot, super hot fire,” EJ Montgomery said. “If you touch him, you’re going to get burned.”
Quickley is the first Kentucky player with consecutive games with at least 25 points since Malik Monk in 2017. The sophomore scored 26 in a win over Florida on Saturday.
Kentucky (23-5, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) was up by 13 and the Aggies hadn’t made a field goal in more than eight minutes when Quenton Jackson ended the drought with a dunk with about 6 minutes to go. That was the start of a 8-2 run by Texas A&M that cut the lead to 57-50 with about 4 minutes left.
Quickley ended the run with a jump shot and hit another 3-pointer after a free throw from Josh Nebo to make it 62-51 with about 90 seconds left to secure the victory. He was equally effective in the first half, making consecutive 3-pointers that thwarted another Texas A&M spurt.
“It’s big,” John Calipari said. “I love it. I don’t know what you want me to say. He made shots.”
Quickley had 16 points at halftime. When he reached 30, he became the first Wildcat with 30 points since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached the mark vs. Vanderbilt in January of 2018.
Although he drained eight 3-pointer, his biggest shot was a long 2 at the 2:03 mark of the second half. With the Aggies rallying and the shot clock nearing winding down, Quickley stepped between two defenders and banked in a shot from straightaway.
“I was a little hot, I guess,” Quickley said with a smile. “Teammates were finding me in good spots. Credit to God. …Teammates were finding me in a lot of open spots, so credit to them. And then the coaches put me in a good situation to have me be successful.”
Wendell Mitchell had 18 points for Texas A&M (14-13, 8-7), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Aggies have lost nine straight games to ranked opponents, with their last win against a team in the Top 25 coming on March 18, 2018, when they beat No. 10 North Carolina.
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said they executed their defensive plan well, but that it just didn’t work out because of Quickley’s performance.
“Our premise defensively is to do everything we can do to keep the ball out of the paint,” he said. “We want to force the team to shoot more 3s than normal.”
He said he didn’t consider changing that philosophy even when Quickley got going.
“There were just too many times we were just a second late,” he said.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: Quickley, the SEC’s player of the week last week, seems to get better every game and is peaking at the right time. His ability to knock down 3s makes it difficult to slow him and the Wildcats down. It was his third straight game with 20 points or more and his 17th in a row with at least 10.
Texas A&M: The Aggies had discovered some offense during their winning streak but had trouble scoring Tuesday and finished with their worst offensive performance of the season. They’ll need to figure out how to be more effective on offense if they hope to close the regular season strong.
25-POINT CLUB
The Wildcats have had five players score 25 points or more this season for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Quickley is joined by Montgomery, Tyrese Maxey, Nick Richards and Hagans in the 25-point club. Calipari believes having so many players who have shown that capability will help his team in the postseason.
“In the tournament, if someone gets hot for your team and they know they can do it because they’ve done it one time, or twice or three times, that guy may help you win and advance in a game you weren’t going to win,” he said.
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Hosts Auburn on Saturday after losing to the Tigers 75-66 on Feb. 1.
Texas A&M: Visits LSU on Saturday. The Aggies lost to the Tigers 89-85 in overtime in their first meeting this season.
