The Kentucky Wildcats did not exactly enter conference play like they were hoping. The team cruised through their on-conference schedule going 13-0 while beating several top-10 teams in the process. SEC play was expected to be a breeze for the top-ranked Wildcats, until they needed overtime to get past Ole Miss in a 89-86 home win. Now they hope to get momentum back in their favor as they prepare to paly Texas A&M on the road.
Several of Kentucky's young stars had to step up in a big way against Ole Miss. Aaron Harrison put up a season-high 26 points while Devin Booker had 13 points while shooting 63.3 percent overall in the past four games. Kentucky's issues came down to offense as they struggled to find their shot at times. The team has been averaging 76.3 points during games while shooting 46.8 percent overall, but they are only shooting 34.0 percent from beyond the arc. They were able to improve that in the past few games, going 48.0.
However, their defense kept the high-scoring Rebels in the game. Ole Miss shot 49.2 percent overall while going 52.9 percent from the 3-point line. That was a season-high for Kentuck who normally holds opponents to just 50.6 points per game. Texas A&M should not be an issue for the Wildcats as they come off a loss to Alabama where they shot a low 30.8 percent overall while falling 65-44.
Jalen Jones is expected to be out with an ankle sprain. He is the leading scorer with 13.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. They will have to rely on Danuel House to regain his form after he was held to just five points against Alabama. He normally averages 11.4 a game. Over the past four games, he is shooting just 27.0 percent which could put the Aggies in danger, especially if Jones is 100 percent not healthy enough to play. Texas A&M has dropped 25 straight games against teams ranked in the top-10 and things are not looking strong for them to fix that stat.
