Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at Texas A&M
Kentucky looks to extend its winning streak on Tuesday, visiting Reed Arena to face Texas A&M in College Station (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Cats won twice last week, winning at South Carolina 72-63, then beating No. 25 Vanderbilt 91-77 at Rupp Arena. UK is now 19-10 this season and 10-6 in Southeastern Conference contests.
On Monday, Kentucky guard Otega Oweh said that winning two games last week has the Cats headed in the right direction.
“We’ve just got to build on it,” Oweh said. “We definitely are confident. Any time you get a win, confidence goes up. Now, it’s just a matter of stacking.”
Oweh talked about how the Cats’ defense has improved, especially lately.
“We’ve been playing pretty good defense,” Oweh said. “Before the season started, that what we wanted to do and be really good at. We let it slip a bit but I feel like that’s what we do. Our identity is that we can play really good defense. You just have to be bought in, 100 percent.”
The Cats play a true road game for the final time this season on Tuesday, facing a Texas A&M team that plays a distinctive style, which includes a nearly constant full-court press. Oweh has seen it on film.
“They press all game,” Oweh said. “Off a make, off a miss, they’re going to press. It’s that physical, high intensity game, that’s what it’s going to be.”
How will Kentucky attempt to break the Texas A&M press?
“We just have to get downhill,” Oweh said. “They’re going to bring a couple of people to the ball, so there could be some catch-and-shoot threes.”
With the postseason quickly approaching, Kentucky hopes to carry momentum through the end of the season and into the postseason tournaments. Winning at Texas A&M on Tuesday would be another big step in that process.
Know Your Opponent: Texas A&M
Kentucky visits Texas A&M for its final road game of the season.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 14-6, including a 5-3 mark when the game is played in College Station
• UK won the lone meeting a season ago, an 81-69 win in Lexington. Jaxson Robinson led the way with 22 points
• Tyler Ulis (March 13, 2016) and Immanuel Quickley (Feb. 25, 2020) own the scoring records in the series for the Cats with 30 points apiece. Elston Turner (Jan. 12, 2013) with 40 points is the series’ scoring leader for the Aggies
• The Aggies enter the matchup with a 19-10 overall record and a 9-7 mark in league play under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan
• Rashaun Agee paces the scoring output with 14.3 points per game. He leads five Aggies in double-figures for the season
• Agee also is the team leader on the boards at 8.8 rebounds per game
• The Aggies have dropped each of their last two games — falling to Arkansas and Texas
Last Time Out
Kentucky earned its fifth win over an AP Top-25 opponent this season with a 91-77 win over visiting No. 25 Vanderbilt on Saturday.
• With Collin Chandler scoring 23 points, he became the eighth Wildcat who has scored at least 20 points in a game this season
• This is the first time UK has had eight 20-point scorers in a season since 1991-92
• Kentucky held Vanderbilt to 25 percent on 3-point shots (7 of 28). UK is 9-0 this season when keeping the opponent to 25 percent or less
• Kentucky led the rebounding, 29-22. UK is 15-4 this season when winning the glass battle
• Kentucky shot 58.8 percent from the field (30 of 51), best this season against an SEC opponent
• UK is 10-0 this season when shooting at least 50 percent
• Kentucky made 50 percent of its 3-pointers (11 of 22), best this season against an SEC opponent
• Kentucky is now 13-1 this season when leading at halftime, 34-2 under Pope when leading at the intermission
• Chandler has made at least five 3-pointers in three of the last five games, making 20 of 35 (57.1 percent) during the five-game span
• Aberdeen played a team-high 37 minutes and did not commit a turnover
• Malachi Moreno played an efficient game with 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, a team-best five assists and a teamhigh plus/minus with a +17
