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Kentucky vs. Texas A&M, SEC Tournament: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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The Kentucky Wildcats will rematch against the Texas A&M Aggies in their first game of the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

The time has finally come for the Kentucky Wildcats to take the court and tip off their first game of the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday evening.

Winning 33 SEC Tournament Championships, the SEC Tournament has long been looked at as the ‘Big Blue Invitational,’ but as of late, that has not been the case. The conference has improved and become much deeper, with other teams like Alabama and Tennessee finding success.

Not making the SEC Championship game since 2018, the Wildcats will look to change that this season. That will start on Friday evening, with a rematch against the Texas A&M Aggies in the Quarterfinal Round, who is coming off a tough-fought win over Ole Miss.

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For the Aggies, they are playing for their NCAA Tournament hopes. They need a win on Friday night to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament. A loss, and they’ll be sweating out Selection Sunday, especially if there are bid-stealers in other conferences. For Kentucky, a win will secure their spot as a 3-seed, and potentially make a late push as a 2-seed.

Flashback to the game in College Station back in January, it was one of Reed Sheppard’s first breakout performances in SEC play. However, the real story was the game of the guard duo of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford, who combined for 59 points and led the Aggies to a 97-92 upset over Kentucky.

This time around, Kentucky has improved and plays through physicality much better, while Texas A&M looks much the same. But we all know how Kentucky brings the best out of opponents, so expect another inspired effort from Buzz Williams’ squad, fighting to keep their season alive.

Now, let’s look at a few things to watch heading into Friday night’s matchup.

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Rebounding Battle

Although Kentucky succeeded in pushing the first game into overtime, they were fortunate to do so with a late push from Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. What created so much trouble for Kentucky was the Aggies’ dominance on the boards.

In their winning effort, Texas A&M won the rebounding battle 54-46, which included 25 offensive rebounds. While not a very efficient offensive team, this allowed the Aggies to attempt six more field goals and nine additional foul shots in a game ultimately decided by five points.

Against a team that shoots below 40 percent on the season, one of the worst marks in the country, Kentucky cannot give up that many extra possessions. Combatting that starts with physicality on defense and the boards, and having the advantage in 50/50 balls.

This time around, the Wildcats will have maybe the most physical presence on the team, Adou Thiero, who was sidelined due to a back injury in the first matchup.

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A&M players have already spoken about wanting to slow the game down and try to force Kentucky to play more of a ‘grind-it-out’ style. Expect an intense battle lasting the full 40 minutes.

Win or You’re Done Mentality

Kentucky won’t have to sweat things out on Selection Sunday, with most projections having them as 3 or 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, with a young and sometimes inconsistent team, it is key to get each player in the mindset of playing each game like it’s the last game. While it may not be true for the Cats this week in Nashville, it certainly will be in the next Tournament.

On Friday, the Cats will face an NCAA Tournament quality opponent, who is fighting for their NCAA Tournament hopes, in a postseason atmosphere. That is certainly beneficial.

If they come mentally prepared with that mindset, fight like every possession is your last, and win, they can lock up a 3-seed and could make a run at a 2-seed with Duke and Creighton being upset in their conference tournaments.

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Backcourt Defense

Kentucky’s backcourt is one of the best in the country and they showed in the first matchup against A&M, at least offensively, putting up 68 of Kentucky’s 92 points. The issue came defensively, where they allowed Preseason SEC Player of the Year Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford to score 59 points.

Neither player is really efficient, both shooting less than 41 percent on the season, but they account for nearly half of the team’s shots. Both are willing shooters (obviously), but they are more dangerous on drives. Kentucky needs to stay between their man and the basket.

At that point, they also need to do their best to defend without fouling. In the first matchup Taylor and Radford combined for 21 free throws, the same amount Kentucky shot for the game. That wasn’t an outlier as they average almost 10 free throws per game.

Opposing Players to watch

G Wade Taylor 6-0, 175 pounds

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  • 18.0 PPG (4th in SEC)
  • 3.5 RPG
  • 4.1 APG (9th in SEC)
  • 2.0 SPG (3rd in SEC)

G Tyrece Radford 6-3, 190 pounds

  • 15.5 PPG
  • 5.9 RPG
  • 2.3 APG
  • 41% from the field

F Andersson Garcia 6-7, 215 pounds

  • 6.0 PPG
  • 9.4 RPG
  • 1.4 SPG
  • 53.8% shooting (44.4% from 3)

Kentucky Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies

  • Date: March 15th, 2024
  • Time: 7:00 pm ET
  • TV Channel: The SEC Network will have TV coverage
  • Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
  • Online Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
  • Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
  • Replay: WatchESPN and the SEC Network (check local listings).
  • Rosters: UK | A&M
  • Stats to Know: UK | A&M
  • KenPomUK | A&M
  • Team SheetsUK | A&M
  • Odds: No official spread yet, but the spread is expected to be around 6 points in favor of the Cats. KenPom gives Kentucky a 63% chance of winning, while EvanMiya has it at 70%.
  • Predictions: KenPom has the Cats winning 81-78. EvanMiya projects an 81-76 victory, Kentucky! Check back later as more predictions roll in.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

Men's Basketball

Former Kentucky Guard Travis Perry Commits to Ole Miss

Kentucky native and fan-favorite guard Travis Perry has committed to Ole Miss following his surprising entry into the transfer portal.

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Travis Perry has committed to Ole Miss.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Travis Perry, a “hometown hero” for Kentucky fans, as well as the only player who remained on the roster during the transition between the John Calipari and Mark Pope tenures, has officially committed to Ole Miss.

Perry’s surprising entry into the transfer portal came just before the final hour of eligibility, throwing his name in the hat right before the door closed. Despite his fairly active role in the Wildcats’ rotation last season, with the influx of guards incoming on next year’s roster, his departure is sensible from a playing time perspective. Though the loss is still an unfortunate one, as the Big Blue Nation loves their Kentucky kids.

Ole Miss was involved in Perry’s recruitment before his initial commitment to Kentucky prior to last season, gracing his “final five” list as a team with a real chance to land the Lyon County guard. It’s apparent that, the second time around, Rebels’ coach Chris Beard wasn’t ready to lose out on him again.

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“Addicted to Basketball”

Just over one month ago, during March Madness, Beard reflected on his first chase for Travis Perry, saying, “I love Travis. He’s one of those guys that’s addicted to basketball.”

“I enjoyed recruiting him, getting a relationship with his family,” Beard continued. “In recruiting, you don’t get so many more guys than you do get… But I was really happy for him that he found a great fit and played a great role as a freshman for Coach Pope’s team.”

Not even one month later, Perry would enter the transfer portal, and now the rest is history. Now, ‘Cats fans can look forward to a rendezvous with their former point guard in Rupp Arena this season, as Perry and the Rebels are set to make the trip to Lexington during conference play.

When it comes to the portal, you win some, you lose some, and you make sacrifices along the way. Perry’s loss is a harrowing reminder of what college basketball has become, as well as the shifting importance of what it means to a player to “stay home.”

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Set to Face Purdue in Exhibition Game at Rupp Arena

In another stout addition to Kentucky’s schedule, the Wildcats and Mark Pope will face Matt Painter and Purdue in an October exhibition game.

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Mark Pope and Kentucky will face Purdue in October.
Anastasia Panaretos | UK Athletics

Kentucky’s non-conference schedule just keeps getting stronger, with the latest addition coming in the form of an exhibition game at Rupp Arena.

It has been officially announced that, on Friday, October 24, Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers will travel to Lexington to take on Mark Pope and the ‘Cats in a preseason bout unlike any other.

Kentucky has spent the majority of recent memory spinning wheels in exhibition games against unranked, mid-major programs. Rupp Arena fills up either way, sure, but the prospect of a potential top 10 team taking one of those spots brings a whole different kind of excitement to the scene.

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High Class Competition

The Boilermakers have cemented themselves as one of the greatest, most consistent powers in college basketball, making the national title game as recently as two years ago against the UConn Huskies. Despite their shortcomings in that battle, the program that Matt Painter has built in the B10 is nothing short of a powerhouse. They won their conference tournament as recently as 2023.

In addition, Purdue’s incoming class is as strong as any, coming in at #1 nationally on FOX Sports’ early top 25 rankings list. Their retaining star guard Braden Smith has much to do with that placement, no doubt. For comparison, Kentucky slots in at #8 on the list; one place below Louisville, and one above Duke.

Regardless of the exhibition, “it don’t count” nature of the game, amping up the competition before the season officially begins will benefit both squads in the long run, giving them a chance to hone their skills against another ranked, highly-touted team.

First it was the St. Johns game, and now Purdue, who join one of the most difficult growing non-conference schedules in the nation. Mark Pope and the Wildcats will have their work cut out for them, though it’s clear he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope is “Scouring the Planet” For Final Additions to Kentucky’s Roster

In his appearance on Jon Rothstein’s podcast, Mark Pope confirmed that he isn’t done with Kentucky’s 2025-26 roster just yet.

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Mark Pope is working to round out Kentucky's incoming roster.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Despite already stringing together one of the nation’s most impressive rosters for the 2025-26 college basketball season in Kentucky’s current 12-man roster, Mark Pope hasn’t hopped off the recruiting trail just yet.

During his appearance on CBS’ Jon Rothstein’s podcast, Pope said that he wants to “round out” the current roster with an initial addition, saying, “I have 12 guys right now… we’re actually going to try and round out this roster.”

“I’m actually scouring the planet right now,” he said. “… for guys that would fit in as maybe a redshirt guy that would kill it in practice, or maybe a last year of your career guy that wants to come here and put on this one-of-one jersey and be a part of this.”

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“We need to add a couple more pieces but right now we have our roster that’s going to own the minutes on this floor.”

Finding Fits

So while it seems that the current, core 12 players will share the majority of Kentucky’s minutes next season, Coach Pope is still keen on finding productive ways to fill out the rest of the available roster spots.

This is a smart move for many reasons, though first and foremost may be Kentucky’s recent history with injuries, specifically this past season. Pope and staff had to dig deep into their reserves during his first year at the helm, resulting in midseason rotational hiccups and many “what-if” endings that may have gone differently had Kentucky been healthy, or, perhaps, had more options on the bench.

And while the entire segment is interesting enough, Pope specifically noting a “couple more pieces” opens the possibility of more than one ‘Cat making their way to Rupp before the upcoming season tips off. Just days ago, that idea seemed completely out of the question.

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Where it’ll go from here is uncertain, but the Big Blue Nation can rest assured that Coach Pope and company are hard at work on the recruiting trail, proved by their sharp roster construction up to this point. If the team has a perceived hole, it will be filled in one way or another.

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