KSR Gameday: Kentucky hosts red-hot Texas A&M Aggies

Good morning, folks! It’s Gameday on KSR as we prepare for the Kentucky Wildcats (12-6; 3-3 SEC) to host the red-hot Texas A&M Aggies (13-5; 5-0 SEC) this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. UK is bringing a mini two-game win streak into Rupp Arena after upsetting Tennessee a week ago and then using a second-half comeback to take down a pesky Georgia squad on Tuesday.

Much has been made of the Sahvir Wheeler “situation” and the now-famous Basketball Benny lineup over the last seven days, which will surely be another major talking point throughout today’s contest. Kentucky’s starting point guard for the last 1.5 seasons sat out against Tennessee due to a shoulder injury then played just 11 minutes against Georgia. Wheeler and sophomore guard Daimion Collins have both been dealing with minor injuries, but should be expected to suit up against the Aggies.

Regardless, all eyes will be on Oscar Tshiebwe as the basketball world awaits to see how he responds after posting a historic stat line of 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia. Texas A&M plans to do everything it can to keep Tshiebwe off the offensive glass (a task few have come close to accomplishing) while being extra aware of defending without fouling. If Kentucky can exploit both of those areas (which they’ve done successfully in the last two games), the ‘Cats should be in good shape. Some solid shooting performances from CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves wouldn’t hurt UK’s chances, either.

How to Watch, Listen

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jimmy Dykes is the color commentator for another Kentucky basketball game. It’s not all bad news — he’ll be accompanied by friend of the program, Tom Hart, on the worldwide leader. If you’re unable to watch the game, you can listen in a variety of ways.

• TV: ESPN
• Local Radio: 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, UK Sports Network
• Online: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 137 or 190, SXM app 961

The KSR Pregame Show will begin at 11:30 a.m. live from KSBar and Grille. Stop on in to see the gang or listen on 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS or iHeart Radio.

Vegas, Computers

Kentucky opened as a 5-point favorite to beat Texas A&M on Friday afternoon and that number hasn’t moved much at all since then. Depending on where you look, UK ranges between a 5- to 5.5-point favorite to beat the Aggies with the over/under set at 136.

The computers favor Kentucky, too. According to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, the ‘Cats have a 76 percent chance of winning, a 66 percent chance to win per KenPom (73-69), and a 53 percent chance to win per BartTorvik (71-70).

Buzz Williams’ team is riding high on a seven-game win streak that included a 5-0 run against the spread. They are undefeated in SEC play and a perfect 5-0 on the road ATS this season. A win for the Wildcats would be their second-best so far, just their second Quad 2 victory of the season. Unders have hit in four of the past five Texas A&M basketball games as the Aggies rank 16th nationally in two-point defense.

Kentucky went almost two full months without covering a spread. After snapping that 10-game ATS skid, they’ve covered in back-to-back games in wins over Tennessee and Georgia. UK is 12-6 straight-up, 6-12 ATS.

Tale of the Tape

Jacob Toppin, Chris Livingston preview Texas A&M

To prime up the Big Blue Nation for today’s game, listen to everything senior forward Jacob Toppin and freshman forward Chris Livingston had to say earlier this week about the matchup.

Toppin spoke about stacking days, playing tough, Wheeler’s importance, ignoring outside negativity, being player-driven, and more. Livingston commented on his game, players-only meetings, Wheeler, being a freshman, winning on the road, Tshiebwe against Georgia, and other matters.

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Buzz Williams also previewed the game

Now in his fourth season in charge of Texas A&M, Buzz Williams is off to his best start with the Aggies yet, riding a 5-0 SEC start (13-5 overall) into Rupp Arena later today. Ahead of that showdown against a surging Kentucky squad, he had plenty to say about the Wildcats and head coach John Calipari. During his pregame press conference on Friday, Williams spoke with reporters to give a thorough breakdown of the UK roster while praising Coach Calipari and the program as a whole along the way.

You can hear everything Williams had to say below, including an interesting (and slightly scary) story about his most memorable trip to Lexington from about a decade ago. If you want to learn even more about the A&M ball coach, you can read up on some of his quirkiest tendencies.

NFL Playoffs roll on this weekend

The NFL divisional playoffs begin later today, with the timing working out perfectly so that you can go from Kentucky hoops straight into playoff football. The nearby Cincinnati Bengals don’t play until Sunday afternoon, but the first matchup on Saturday features a handful of former Wildcats, most notably Josh Allen and Luke Fortner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Check out this weekend’s slate of postseason action, and as always, Go ‘Cats.

Saturday, Jan. 21

4:30 (NBC): Jaguars (Allen, Fortner, Peters) @ Chiefs (Kinnard)
8:15 (FOX): Giants @ Eagles

Sunday, Jan. 22

3:00 (CBS): Bengals @ Bills
6:30 (FOX): Cowboys (Bohana, Joseph) @ 49ers

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