We need to shed Kennedy. Now.
Photo by Brian Okosun
Texas A&M Basketball
Aggies must shed recent struggles in road tilt with #6 Kentucky
Seldom is righting the ship done easily. It’s even more difficult in troubled waters.
That’s the task facing Texas A&M as the Aggies try to get back on an even keel in college basketball’s equivalent of a hurricane. Hoping to bounce back from its most disappointing loss of the season, A&M (8-4, 0-1) travels to face No. 8 Kentucky (11-2, 1-0) on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
“We need to get better than what what we did against Tennessee, and I thought we did a good job the last few days putting that behind us and focusing on being stronger with the ball and being better offensively and being a little more disciplined,” said A&M coach Billy Kennedy, who indicated there should be changes but did not elaborate. “This is all about us. I don’t want to say I’m not worried about Kentucky because I’d be lying. Our focus is all about us.”
Perhaps the Aggies’ greatest reason for optimism is their history against the Wildcats. Since joining the SEC, A&M is 2-4 against coach John Calipari’s powerful program, but three of the Aggies’ losses were by six points or less.
Brian Okosun
A&M will have to be on point in transition against Kentucky, who plays as fast as any team in the nation.
“We’ve played well against Kentucky," Kennedy said. “We expect to play well. We expect to give ourselves a chance to win. Our guys, I don’t think, are afraid.”
The last three games between A&M and Kentucky have gone into overtime.
“It helps mentally, but it’s a new team,” A&M sophomore center Tyler Davis said. “Both teams are different. It’s a new matchup. It’s about which team plays harder and does the dirty work.”
A&M didn’t do the dirty work against Tennessee. Instead, the Aggies just got worked over in a 73-63 loss that wasn’t that close. The Aggies committed 16 turnovers and struggled to score inside as Tyler Davis, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Robert Williams combined for just 15 points.
“We’ve got to focus on getting better because we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to improve on — being strong with the ball, making the right plays and getting the ball inside even when teams are taking Tyler away,” Kennedy said. "Making the right adjustment is something we’ve been working on.”
No doubt, the Aggies will need major adjustments to contend with Kentucky, which is the nation’s third-highest scoring team with a 93.5 points per game average. Kentucky’s losses have come against No. 4 UCLA by five points and No. 9 Louisville by three.
“They’re the fastest team in the country going from defense to offense so we’ve go to get back (on defense),” Kennedy said. “That’s what concerns me the most … them beating us down the floor.
“They are the fastest-paced team in the country.”
That will make it even more difficult for the Aggies to right the ship.
That’s the task facing Texas A&M as the Aggies try to get back on an even keel in college basketball’s equivalent of a hurricane. Hoping to bounce back from its most disappointing loss of the season, A&M (8-4, 0-1) travels to face No. 8 Kentucky (11-2, 1-0) on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
“We need to get better than what what we did against Tennessee, and I thought we did a good job the last few days putting that behind us and focusing on being stronger with the ball and being better offensively and being a little more disciplined,” said A&M coach Billy Kennedy, who indicated there should be changes but did not elaborate. “This is all about us. I don’t want to say I’m not worried about Kentucky because I’d be lying. Our focus is all about us.”
Perhaps the Aggies’ greatest reason for optimism is their history against the Wildcats. Since joining the SEC, A&M is 2-4 against coach John Calipari’s powerful program, but three of the Aggies’ losses were by six points or less.
Brian Okosun
A&M will have to be on point in transition against Kentucky, who plays as fast as any team in the nation.
The last three games between A&M and Kentucky have gone into overtime.
“It helps mentally, but it’s a new team,” A&M sophomore center Tyler Davis said. “Both teams are different. It’s a new matchup. It’s about which team plays harder and does the dirty work.”
A&M didn’t do the dirty work against Tennessee. Instead, the Aggies just got worked over in a 73-63 loss that wasn’t that close. The Aggies committed 16 turnovers and struggled to score inside as Tyler Davis, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Robert Williams combined for just 15 points.
“We’ve got to focus on getting better because we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to improve on — being strong with the ball, making the right plays and getting the ball inside even when teams are taking Tyler away,” Kennedy said. "Making the right adjustment is something we’ve been working on.”
No doubt, the Aggies will need major adjustments to contend with Kentucky, which is the nation’s third-highest scoring team with a 93.5 points per game average. Kentucky’s losses have come against No. 4 UCLA by five points and No. 9 Louisville by three.
We’ve played well against
Kentucky. We expect to play well. We expect to give ourselves a chance
to win. Our guys, I don’t think, are afraid.
Freshman guards Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox are leading the fast-paced Wildcats. Monk averages 22.4 points, while Fox averages 15.6 points and is eighth in the nation in assists with an average of 6.8. The Wildcats also have a strong inside presence with 6-10 freshman forward Eric Adebayo, who averages 13.5 points and 7.7 rebounds.“They’re the fastest team in the country going from defense to offense so we’ve go to get back (on defense),” Kennedy said. “That’s what concerns me the most … them beating us down the floor.
“They are the fastest-paced team in the country.”
That will make it even more difficult for the Aggies to right the ship.
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