Kentucky basketball falls flat in SEC Tournament. ‘Just wasn’t one of our better games.’
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Game day: Texas A&M 97, No. 9 Kentucky 87
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Friday night’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Texas A&M at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
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If the most exciting Kentucky basketball team in years is going to leave anything other than some fun memories behind in Lexington, there’s only one more opportunity to do it.
These Wildcats won’t be bringing any trophies home from Nashville.
Texas A&M defeated No. 9-ranked Kentucky 97-87 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Friday night in Bridgestone Arena, sending the Cats packing early again.
This was the second straight season and the third time in the past four years that UK has lost its first game in the league tourney. Vanderbilt upset 3-seeded Kentucky in the quarterfinals last year. The Cats’ dreadful 9-16 season ended with a tournament loss to Mississippi State three years ago.
UK hasn’t won the SEC Tournament — or even played in the title game — since 2018.
This one seemed like it might be different.
The air of excitement that has followed this team all season — even amid the many stumbles and setbacks — finally met with sustained results over the past few weeks. Kentucky entered the postseason on a five-game winning streak and fresh off an 85-81 win at No. 4 Tennessee last weekend, the biggest victory yet for a UK team seemingly putting it all together at the right time.
On Friday afternoon, the SEC regular-season champion Volunteers were upset by Mississippi State, leaving Kentucky as the top-seeded team in Nashville and eliminating the second-largest fan base in the city. The stage was set for an all-blue weekend in Bridgestone Arena.
Texas A&M put an end to that.
“Just wasn’t one of our better games,” John Calipari said.
No question about it.
The Wildcats fell into an 8-1 hole in the early going. They were dominated on the offensive boards, a major strength of this Aggies team but also a major point of emphasis for Kentucky in recent weeks. The Cats were sloppy with the ball. They were even sloppier without it.
Just like in the only regular-season meeting between these two sides — Texas A&M won that one 97-92 in overtime in College Station on Jan. 13 — the Aggies basically scored at will.
They got second-chance points, yes, but they also got to the basket all game long, beating Kentucky’s guards off the dribble and finishing at the rim.
“We have shown that we can guard the best teams in the country. We have shown that you can score a hundred on us,” Calipari said. “We just got to lock in and know we’ve got to get better defensively.”
Texas A&M came into the game averaging 6.7 made 3-pointers per game and shooting an abysmal 27.7% from deep. In the first half alone, the Aggies went 8 of 16 from long range. They finished the game 11-for-26 (42.3%). Wade Taylor IV led the way with 32 points (and six 3s).
It was only the second time this season that A&M had scored at least 90 points in a game. The first one was against Kentucky, too.
UK’s defensive effort was cause for concern. But the Cats lamented their offense even more.
Perhaps for good reason.
Kentucky committed 14 turnovers, and Texas A&M outscored the Cats 18-4 in points off turnovers. (The Aggies committed only six turnovers of their own.)
UK had 21 assists on 30 made baskets, but there were also several reckless drives at the basket, a few lackadaisical passes on the perimeter, and simply a lack of cohesion that hasn’t been common with this bunch.
“I mean, you got to give them credit. They played a really good game,” Reed Sheppard said. “They were physical. They guarded well. A lot of that was on us, as well. We didn’t play like we’ve normally been playing. We didn’t share the ball. We got selfish and tried to make home run plays — just try and take over the game by ourselves.”
Sheppard made his first five shots — three of them from 3-point range — and scored 14 points, but all of those came in the first half. He was 0-for-2 from the field after halftime.
“We’re trying to get him more shots,” Calipari said. “They did a good job. Couldn’t quite get ’em off.”
Rob Dillingham led the Wildcats with 27 points, hitting some big shots to keep the game somewhat within reach. He had seven assists, but he also had five turnovers, forcing the issue at times, trying to do too much with the ball.
“I told ’em after: We didn’t pass the ball to each other like we’ve been doing,” Calipari said. “When the ball stops, we’re not the same team. Go one on five, you can’t make a play that way. We haven’t for weeks. Today we kind of did.”
Antonio Reeves — the team’s leading scorer — had just 13 points, snapping a seven-game streak of putting up at least 20. He struggled with foul trouble the entire night, spending the final 5:41 of the first half on the bench with two fouls. He picked up his third less than two minutes into the second half. He got his fourth shortly after checking back in. He fouled out with 20 seconds left.
Reeves played just 18 minutes, his lowest total in 52 games.
“He never really got in rhythm,” Calipari said.
That could be said for the team as a whole.
In a 40-minute game, the Wildcats led for a grand total of 41 seconds. They trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half and never got closer than six points in the final 12 minutes.
“We’ll learn from it. We’ll get better,” Sheppard said. “We got a bunch of dudes that know how to play basketball. We’ll continue to get in the gym, watch the game, learn from it, then just continue to get better.”
Obviously, time is running out on that.
Kentucky will now await its fate on Selection Sunday. The Cats might’ve been able to lock up a 3 seed with a win Friday night. They could now be a 4 seed. Destination unknown, for now.
More importantly, a team that seemed to be putting it all together took another step backward. From here on out, it’s win or go home.
This Kentucky offense is electric. Its defense is suspect. Ready or not, March Madness is next.
“I’m excited about going into this tournament. I am,” Calipari said. “When you can score the ball, you got a chance. Now, c’mon, let’s just guard a little bit.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2024 at 12:01 AM.
