No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Texas A&M: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

These quick turnarounds are no joke in the league, the Wildcats returning home following a top-15 road win at Mississippi State and immediately following it up with another top-15 matchup in Lexington against No. 11 Texas A&M. If Kentucky wants to prove it’s among the best in the SEC with the league seen as the most dangerous college basketball has seen ever, this is another opportunity to prove it.

What do you need to know about the matchup inside Rupp Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM ET? KSR’s got you covered.

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN2 (Karl Ravech Jimmy Dykes)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 160 or 192
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 21

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at Mississippi State

Texas A&M: KenPom 15

• 11/4: 64-61 L at UCF
• 11/8: 87-55 W vs. East Texas A&M
• 11/11: 97-71 W vs. Lamar
• 11/15: 78-64 W vs. Ohio State
• 11/20: 71-54 W vs. Southern
• 11/26: 80-70 L vs. Oregon
• 11/27: 77-73 W vs. Creighton
• 11/30: 81-77 W vs. Rutgers
• 12/3: 57-44 W vs. Wake Forest
• 12/8: 72-67 W vs. Texas Tech
• 12/14: 70-66 W vs. Purdue
• 12/20: 77-45 W vs. Houston Christian
• 12/28: 92-54 W vs. Abilene Christian
• 1/4: 80-60 W vs. Texas
• 1/8: 80-78 W at Oklahoma
• 1/11: 94-88 L vs. Alabama

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 13-6 including a 7-2 record at home against Texas A&M. The Wildcats are, however, on a two-game losing streak in the matchup, losing both battles in 2023-24 — starting with a 97-92 overtime loss in College Station, followed by a 97-87 loss in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. Aggie star guard Wade Taylor finished with a game-high 31 points in the regular season matchup, followed by another 32-point effort in Nashville — including an infamous wave goodbye to Big Blue Nation in the latter.

Buzz Williams, in his sixth season at Texas A&M, is 2-4 against the Wildcats overall including his time at Virginia Tech while Mark Pope is set to take on the Aggies for the first time.

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M Odds via Circa Sports

Spread: Kentucky -6
Total: 156.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for UK, the former going with an 80-77 victory and the latter rolling with an 81-77 final score. ESPN’s BPI likes the Wildcats by 2.6 points while giving the home team a 60.5 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
13.9 PPG, 4.6 APG, 2.9 RPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.8 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.5 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG

Texas A&M Projected Starters

#1 – Zhuric Phelps
6-4 – 190 – GUARD – SENIOR
15.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.7 APG

#2 – Hayden Hefner
6-4 – 190 – GUARD – GRADUATE SENIOR
6.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.7 APG

#35 – Manny Obaseki
6-4 – 200 – GUARD – 200
6.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG

#9 – Solomon Washington
6-7 – 220 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
5.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.2 BPG

#15 – Henry Coleman
6-8 – 250 – FORWARD – GRADUATE SENIOR
8.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG

SEC Availability Report

The new SEC policy states players must be listed as “out” (0% chance to play), “doubtful” (25% chance to play), “questionable” (50% chance to play), or “probable” (75% chance to play) in reports prior to game days. Where do things stand ahead of the team’s home matchup in Lexington?

KENTUCKY

• Kerr Kriisa – OUT
• Andrew Carr – PROBABLE

TEXAS A&M

• Wade Taylor IV – OUT

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky has faced four opponents ranked inside the AP top 10 this year, going 4-0 in those matchups. Texas A&M will mark the fifth ranked foe overall and second straight against a top-15 opponent.
• Lamont Butler has been the team’s leading scorer through three games in SEC play, averaging 16.3 points per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field with 6.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.3 rebounds.
• Otega Oweh is the only player who has scored in double digits in every game for Kentucky while five players are averaging double-figure scoring — Amari Williams is just short of that mark at 9.9 points per game. No UK team has ever finished the season with six players averaging double-figure points.
• Mark Pope clinched his 200th career win when the Wildcats defeated Mississippi State on Saturday

Pregame Storylines

NO. 1 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING TEAM IN THE COUNTRY

Texas A&M comes in ranked No. 269 in FG%, No. 308 in 3PT%, No. 294 in EFG% and No. 259 in FT% nationally while scoring just 77.4 points per contest. The Aggies are not particularly great at anything with the exception of one key category in which they are elite: offensive rebounding. They’re pulling down 17.06 boards on that end per game, good for best in the nation by a wide margin. They’re so good, in fact, their No. 178 overall defensive rebounding efficiency still doesn’t drag them lower than No. 7 nationally in total rebounds per game (42.31). That’s been a massive concern for Kentucky at times this season, but the Cats responded in a big way at Mississippi State. Can they neutralize the Aggies on the glass?

WADE TAYLOR IV IS OUT FOR A&M

The star guard ended his junior campaign with 32 points vs. Kentucky in a 97-87 upset in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, followed by a 30-piece in the semifinals. From there, he went for 20-plus in both NCAA Tournament matchups before returning for one more year in College Station. There, he’s averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game to go with 4.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. Unfortunately for the Aggies, though, he’s been ruled out for a third straight game due to an undisclosed injury. In his absence, Zhuric Phelps has stepped up with 18, 34 and 24 points against Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama, A&M going 2-1 in that stretch. They’ve made it work without him, but Taylor’s absence is undoubtedly a massive storyline entering this one.

A JAXSON ROBINSON REUNION

Kentucky’s big-name guard actually started his career at Texas A&M, signing with the Aggies as a top-40, four-star prospect in the class of 2021. Arriving early and originally planning to redshirt, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID and he decided to play as a freshman, averaging 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per contest across 14 games. The Aggies finished 8-10 that season and just 2-8 in the SEC, Robinson then deciding to pursue a fresh start elsewhere, landing him at Arkansas under Eric Musselman. After a bad experience in Fayetteville, he landed in Provo with Mark Pope and the rest is history. Four years later, Robinson meets Williams and his A&M staff again for the first time.

ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT WITH PLENTY MORE TO COME

What’s the reward for a statement top-15 SEC victory to earn the program’s first true road win on the year? Another one at home, plus one more top-5 matchup this weekend. That’s the case with No. 11 Texas A&M coming to town, marking the fifth ranked opponent for Kentucky overall and the second straight against a top-15 opponent. From here, the Wildcats have seven more ranked opponents with 11 Quad 1 matchups to come. No time to rest when the journey only gets tougher from here, but hey, that’s what you come here for, right? “It’s probably the main reason you come to Kentucky, you get to play the best teams every single night,” Travis Perry said.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

New members can get KSR+ for seven days for just $1.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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