'Turkey' feast needed for A&M as ultra-fast Kentucky comes to Reed

In Texas A&M parlance, “turkey” is not a Thanksgiving Day entree.

Rather, it’s a defensive feast.

Denying an opponent points on three consecutive possessions is the A&M definition of a turkey, and the Aggies need a flock of them on Saturday to avoid a different kind of turkey.

A&M (9-6, 0-2) hopes to avoid a third consecutive loss in a 1 p.m. Southeastern Conference clash against No. 6 Kentucky (12-2, 2-0) at Reed Arena.

Turkeys won’t come easily against Kentucky, which is second in the nation in scoring with a 90.7 point average. The Wildcats have registered at least 81 points in every game of a current six-game winning streak.

Indeed, Kentucky has exceeded 80 points in 13 of its 14 games.

But A&M can glean defensive confidence from limiting high-scoring Auburn, which was averaging 85 points, to just 66 on Tuesday night.

“We held them to 66,” A&M guard Wade Taylor IV said. “To be on the road in that atmosphere, what we did basically is a step in the right decision. I’m excited to play (Saturday) and get back to it.”

The Aggies will need all the excitement, energy and effort they can muster to slow down Kentucky.

A&M coach Buzz Williams warned the Wildcats are similar to Auburn, but move and score at an even faster rate.

“I would say the similarities would be Auburn is fast in transition,” Williams said. "What I told our team was if Auburn is fast, Kentucky is a hallucinogen.

“Super duper fast. Fourteenth fastest team in the country. Sixty-four percent of their shots have been attempted in the first 12 seconds of the possession.

“They shoot an enormous amount of shots in transition from 3. It’s similar in regards to the pace, but percentage-wise, it’s on steroids.”

Kentucky has five players averaging in double figures. Senior guard Antonio Reeves leads the way with an 18.6 average. Freshman guard Rob Dillingham averages 14.4, while 6-foot-9 freshman forward Tre Mitchell averages 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds.

The Aggies must somehow slow down Kentucky because they haven’t shown a consistent ability to score at a high rate.

A&M has scored fewer than 70 points in its last three games against strong competition. A&M had 53 points in an SEC-opening loss to LSU last week. The Aggies scored 66 in a loss to Houston on Dec. 16.

The problem is as simple as erratic shooting. The Aggies are last in the SEC in field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage.

Taylor, the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year, has struggled of late. Though leading A&M with a 17.3 average, he’s shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 25.4 percent from 3-point range.

“IV” made just two of 16 shots and missed all eight attempts behind the arc in the loss to Auburn.

TexAgs

Since Williams’ arrival in College Station, he is winless vs. John Calipari and Big Blue Nation.

“IV does not want to go 2-of-16 and 0-of-8. Not because he’s (SEC) Preseason Player of the Year. IV is smart, and IV loves his teammates, and IV loves Texas A&M,” Williams said. “But IV is also smart enough to know if you go 2-of-16 and 0-of-8, it’s going to be hard for Texas A&M to win. Does IV want to do better? Yes, he does.

“Does IV want to do better for himself? Sure, but he wants to do better for himself because he’s unselfish enough and smart enough to know, ‘I need to do better so our team can do better.’”

Of course, the Aggies want to do better.

They’ve demonstrated they can, too. The previous two seasons they’ve broken out of slumps to finish strong.

Earlier this season, they’ve posted impressive victories over Ohio State and Iowa State. A&M also came up just short in competitive losses to No. 2 Houston, No. 13 Memphis and No. 24 Florida Atlantic.

Still, pressure is building after starting SEC play with two losses.

Williams said that pressure is a good thing.

“I’m not a psychologist, but I think it’s good when you feel pressure to win,” he said. “I think we all feel pressure to win in our jobs. When we don’t have success, and we care, we want to do better.

“If you’re not doing that, you probably have the wrong job.”