Watch the Tape: Texas A&M Aggies

A three game winning streak doesn’t necessarily mean that all issues have been solved. However, a trend is certainly forming and it involves the Kentucky Wildcats playing much better basketball. On Saturday afternoon in front of a raucous home crowd at Rupp Arena the ‘Cats took down the Texas A&M Aggies 76-67. It was the first loss in the SEC for Texas A&M and moved Kentucky over .500 in the league. It was a physical, hard-fought game on both ends with several long reviews that stretched the game to nearly two and a half hours. Given the result though, Big Blue Nation didn’t mind sticking around a little longer to secure the victory.

For the third straight game the Wildcats absolutely dominated the defensive glass. They have posted defensive rebounding percentages of 88.2%, 87.5%, and 84% against Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas A&M respectively. Most impressively, all three of those teams are rated as excellent offensive rebounding groups. It has taken until late January, but the Wildcats are finally approaching that 77% defensive rebounding average that would solidify them as one of the best on the glass in the country.

While the toughness on the glass was impressive, Kentucky’s three-point shooting is what got fans buzzing. The Texas A&M Aggies defensive game plan is to make teams beat them from three-point range. Opponents shoot over 45% of their field goal attempts from beyond the arc against the Aggies. However, teams have shot just 34.2% from deep on the season which is why they have a 5-1 SEC record. The plan nearly worked on Saturday too, but the Wildcats 11-32 mark was just enough to send the Aggies back to College Station with a loss.

These film breakdowns are always more fun after a win. Luckily, the ‘Cats have rattled off three straight now and are building some positive momentum. On Saturday Kentucky executed on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes about as well as they have all season. That is what it takes to win this time of year in conference play and that is especially true against a team as tough as Texas A&M. Kentucky was aggressive offensively, sound defensively, and rebounded the heck out of the ball. Let’s step on inside the KSR Film Room and take a look at what led to the Wildcats win over the Texas A&M Aggies.

Team Defensive Execution Set the Tone in 1st Half vs. Texas A&M

Aside from the first half against Georgia, the Wildcats have put together five out of six really good defensive halves. The effort and activity level has clearly changed since the ugly home loss to South Carolina. Players are flying around the floor, helping each other, more willing to switch, and most importantly finishing each possession with a defensive rebound. Here are some of Kentucky’s most impressive defensive possessions from Saturday’ first half against the Texas A&M Aggies.

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At this moment it was clear that Kentucky was locked in on Saturday. For a defender that was picked on by Alabama and South Carolina, Oscar Tshiebwe played maybe his best defensive game of the season against the Texas A&M Aggies. He was so active and showcased much better footwork when helping and closing out. On this possession he helped to corral #0 Davis on the baseline drive, closed out to #34 Marble in the mid-range, and took away the right hand drive. When you couple effort and execution you have a chance to be really good defensively.

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This was a great switch on the handoff to #2 Hefner. Especially driving it to his left hand, Hefner is not really a threat off of the dribble. Oscar Tshiebwe can absolutely guard him for a possession if he gets out and takes away the 3’s. Lance Ware did an outstanding job as well forcing #34 Marble to drive it left and got him to missing the running floater. Another example of excellent defensive execution for the Wildcats.

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It doesn’t matter if it was intentional or not, but both CJ Fredrick and Lance Ware made extremely high IQ decisions on this defensive possession against the Texas A&M Aggies. #20 Gordon is an excellent shooter, but it is primarily catch-and-shoot. He likely isn’t going to settle behind the ballscreen going left, so Fredrick just hopped underneath it. Then, Cason Wallace didn’t over help on the left hand drive instead staying with the more dangerous #4 Taylor IV. Finally, Lance Ware drew an offensive foul because he made #34 Marble go to his less comfortable right shoulder. All-around perfection in terms of defensive execution.

Ball Movement, Sharp Cutting, & Good Screening

Running successful offense doesn’t have to equate to rocket science. It isn’t about running the Princeton, intricate set plays, or a million different Horns looks. Instead, you can just move the ball, cut hard, and screen well to get your best players in a position to succeed. Coach Calipari and the Kentucky staff dialed up some good half court offense, but a lot of it was really pretty simple. The Texas A&M Aggies play an aggressive style of defense and the ‘Cats exploited that aggressiveness on Saturday afternoon.

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Kentucky was a little stagnant at the beginning of this play but then got things fixed with hard cuts and purposeful ball reversals. Jacob Toppin’s slip to the rim brought a defender with him. Then the ball changed sides of the floor twice which caused the Texas A&M Aggies to miscommunicate a couple of switches. The end result was the Aggies 4-man on Cason Wallace who attacked the closeout for an easy floater. Texas A&M does so much switching on and off the ball that simple ball reversals can get them lost if you move it fast enough. Simple offense, but good execution and patience.

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It doesn’t get much more basic than a middle ballscreen roll and replace action. However, when the reining National Player of the Year is the one rolling to the basket it attracts a lot of attention. Texas A&M was so concerned about the ball going into the post that #15 Coleman jumped at Jacob Toppin to deter the entry. That gave Toppin an opening for a simple two-dribble floater to his right hand. Also, this play show the importance of having shooting on the floor. With Wallace, Reeves, and Fredrick on the floor together there is nowhere for the Aggies to help from.

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The combination of three shooters on the floor plus Oscar Tshiebwe makes offense pretty easy. Defenses don’t want to help off of Wallace, Reeves, or Fredrick. However, they also want to make sure they have Oscar Tshiebwe covered at all times. Kentucky went to this staggered backscreen play a few times with success against the Texas A&M Aggies. #4 Taylor IV tries to communicate the switch to get in front of Tshiebwe. #34 Marble fights through though and now they have two guys on Tshiebwe with nobody on Reeves. Wallace does a great job of finding Reeves and now the Aggies are in scramble mode. One more pass gets Jacob Toppin in a closeout situation for a beautiful baseline drive.

Second Half Offensive Execution Secured Win Over the Aggies

When Kentucky was struggling earlier this season there was little to no identity on offense. Possessions were disjointed and slow developing. Players didn’t seem to know what to do or were at best unsure. There was limited ball movement and/or player movement. However, lately things have looked a lot better for the Wildcats offensively. There is better overall structure and certainly better execution as well. Here are some of the plays that helped beat the Texas A&M Aggies down the stretch.

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This has become a go-to set play for Coach Calipari of late. The structure here is excellent. Having CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves set a double diagonal backscreen for Oscar Tshiebwe essentially ensures there will be no help on the post. Using elite shooters as screeners is a great way for them to get open. After screening for Tshiebwe, Fredrick and Reeves step up to set a second staggered backscreen for Jacob Toppin looking for the job over the top. Kentucky has converted off of this action several times over the last few games.

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When the ‘Cats needed a basket they kept going back to the well with this staggered backscreen set. There are so many things that they can get to off of this one action. Obviously you have the lob to Toppin as seen in the previous clip. You could also hit Oscar Tshiebwe directly off of the diagonal backscreen. Having great shooters like Fredrick and Reeves popping after the backscreen really stretches the defense too. Easy post entry for Fredrick to Tshiebwe for two points on a deep catch.

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Basketball can be very simple. Sometimes you need to your players to be better than the other team’s players. With the full court pressure that the Texas A&M Aggies throw at you sometimes you just have to go make a play at the other end. Your best shot might come with 24 seconds on the shot clock instead of working it around in the half court. This was a really gutsy shot by Antonio Reeves because if he missed it he would be under a lot of scrutiny. However, it is great to see him have the confidence to take and make this floater.