First Scouting Report: Can Kentucky survive a ‘trap game’ at Texas A&M?
An early look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 12 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) will face Texas A&M (15-2, 4-0 SEC) on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at Reed Arena (capacity 12,989) in College Station, Texas.
The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by the SEC Network.
Coach Buzz Williams’ Aggies won 67-64 at Missouri on Saturday.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Texas A&M 11-4 and has won six of the past seven meetings.
Most recent meeting
Immanuel Quickley hit eight of 12 three-point attempts and scored 30 points to lead Kentucky to a 69-60 victory at Texas A&M on February 25, 2020.
Power rankings
Through Sunday’s games, the NCAA’s NET Rankings had Kentucky No. 11 and Texas A&M No. 51.
The Kenpom Rankings rated UK No. 4 and Texas A&M No. 59.
Kentucky stood No. 9 in the Sagarin Ratings with Texas A&M No. 71.
Know your foe
1. In his third season as Texas A&M head man, Buzz Williams appears to have the Aggies moving in the right direction.
The Aggies began Southeastern Conference play with a road win (81-79) at Georgia and home victories over Arkansas (86-81) and Mississippi (67-51) before Saturday’s come-from-behind win at Missouri (67-64).
A&M’s two losses have come on neutral courts to Wisconsin (69-58) in the Maui Invitational (which was played in Las Vegas) and to TCU (68-64) in Houston.
In prior head coaching stops, Williams led Marquette to five NCAA Tournament trips and Virginia Tech to three.
2. Offensive balance has been the Texas A&M calling card in 2021-22. The Aggies have seven players averaging between 6.4 points a game and 12.9, with three players, led by guard Quentin Jackson, scoring in double figures.
3. Since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012-13, Kentucky is 4-2 vs. the Aggies in College Station. Three of those games have gone to at least one overtime, with the Wildcats 2-1 in those games.
With UK coming off of Saturday’s game with rival and then-No. 22 Tennessee and slated to face now-No. 2 Auburn on the following Saturday, the trip to Texas A&M shapes up as something of a “trap game” for John Calipari’s Cats.
This story was originally published January 15, 2022 at 3:15 PM.
