SEC Hoops Preview: No. 24 Kentucky vs. Texas A&M

Last time Kentucky and Texas A&M met back in early January, it came down to the final seconds. A questionable no-call underneath the basket on the game’s final play gave the Wildcats the slight 74-73 win over the Aggies. At the time, Texas A&M still longed for its first win in SEC play. Now, the Aggies are starting to come into form now that several key players are returning from injury. They look for revenge in their second meeting with No. 24 Kentucky with this one going down in College Station, Texas Saturday night.

Live Now: @UKCoachCalipari Pre-Texas A&M Press Conference https://t.co/gw60KQdfta

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 9, 2018

Mental Toughness

The No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats have hit another rough patch. The Wildcats come into the rematch with the Aggies after dropping their last two matchups, including a home loss to No. 15 Tennessee. The loss to the Volunteers created a dent in Kentucky’s hopes for the SEC regular season championship.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari wants to see his young team show some mental toughness.

Calipari’s team has been in this position just a few weeks ago. Following two tough losses to South Carolina and rival Florida, Kentucky bounced back with three wins in a row, including knocking off then No. 7 West Virginia on the road.

Given his team’s experience in bouncing back, Calipari remains confident in his team but wants to see more fight out of them.

"…proud of our guys for the fight they had in them."@Coach_Kennedy talks Auburn game & keys to a win against the Wildcats.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/0fkegyppYh

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) February 9, 2018

Return of the Aggies

Earlier in the season, Texas A&M was considered to be one of the best teams in the country. The Aggies were ranked as high as fifth. Then, the team slid down polls and out of the rankings. Texas A&M started SEC play losing six of their first eight conference games.

The slow start to conference play was due in large part to the injury bug that plagued the team early on. Now, several key players are returning to the lineup and it shows on the court. Texas A&M has won its last three games, including an upset win over No. 8 Auburn.

Another reason for the recent turnaround for the Aggies has been a balanced offensive gameplan.

Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said that the team was able to get back to its identity once key players returned from injury.

Key Players

For Kentucky, the player to watch out for is freshman forward Kevin Knox. The 6’7” star from Tampa is essentially the catalyst for the Kentucky offense. In Kentucky’s win over West Virginia, Knox led the team with 34 points. In the last losses, Knox has totaled a combined 15 points on 5-17 shooting and not hitting a single three-pointer. For the season, Knox averages close to 15 points a game. Knox’s recent struggles have hindered Kentucky. They’ll need another monster performance out of him if they want to sweep the season series with the Aggies.

Texas A&M is led by junior center Tyler Davis. Davis is a double-double just waiting to happen. He averages 14.4 points and 8.9 rebounds. Davis has posted four double-doubles in the teams last seven games. He has been one of the few Aggies to remain healthy throughout the course of the season. Kentucky will have to slow him down if they want to win this one.

Tip-Off

The Aggies welcome in the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats for a rematch of the team’s thrilling matchup in Lexington back in January. Tip-off from College Station is set for 8:15 p.m. Saturday night.