Kentucky basketball: 5 things to know about Texas A&M

Kentucky is getting ready for another tough environment in conference play as they take on Texas A&M in College Station. Here are 5 things to know about Coach Buzz Williams and the Texas A&M Aggies.

1. Wade Taylor IV:

Taylor has been the Aggies best player this season. He is averaging 17.3 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds per game. Taylor is by far their best passer, so look out for his passes. He has played great in the big games that the Aggies have played in so far. Had 35 points in a loss to Florida Atlantic, 34 points in a loss to Houston, and most recently, 23 points in the loss against LSU. It is safe to say that Kentucky fans may get used to that name by the end of the game.

2. Texas A&M leads the SEC in offensive rebounds:

Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia are the main catalysts, averaging a combined 17 rebounds per game. Those two are number one and number three in the SEC, respectively. Kentucky only has Tre Mitchell at number six in the SEC, and it is not close to the amount of rebounds that Texas A&M gets per game. The Cats will have to make their own shots if they want to make this game easier on themselves.

3. Texas A&M is not good at shooting the three:

This part is something I was not expecting, but the Aggies are only shooting 26% from the three-point line through 15 games. That is the worst percentage in the SEC. These two teams are the exact opposite of each other. The lone bright spot when looking at percentages on their roster is Andersson Garcia, who has made 37.5% of his threes taken. Shooting the 3 is something that the Aggies don’t do well, but they are good at getting rebounds and making a team pay for it.

4. Texas A&M has lost back-to-back games:

Texas A&M will be hungry for a win, as they started conference play with back-to-back losses to LSU and Auburn. It will be a Saturday afternoon, the student section will be ready for the game, and the cats have to be ready for this game or this game will be a loss. The track record this week for highly ranked teams on the road is not good, as we have seen seven ranked teams lose on the road over the last two days.

5. Texas A&M averages the less amount of blocks in the SEC:

This is another stat to keep an eye on during the game on Saturday. The Aggies average only 2.7 blocks, which is the worst in the SEC. Something that you would not expect from a team that averages 42.9 rebounds per game. Andersson Garcia would be the player to keep an eye on for the block, as he averages 0.7 blocks. For those wondering, Kentucky averages 5.3 blocks per game.

Based on the statistics, you would think Kentucky has the advantage. You just never know what could happen on a Saturday in January on the road in conference play. Kentucky will have to be ready to play in this game because we are in a great spot for the AP poll at this moment in time. And that could be taken away within a 40-minute span.