Tuesday, January 14
Lexington, Ky.
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
at
Kentucky
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Gear Up for Top 10 Road Challenge from Wildcats
Jan 13, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Texas A&M men's basketball team (13-3, 2-2 SEC) faces the 8th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (13-3, 2-1) in a 6 p.m. matchup at Rupp Arena on Tuesday.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
NEED-TO-KNOWS
SUCCESS VS. AP TOP 25: Since March of 2022, the Aggies have posted a 14-10 record against ranked teams, which is the seventh-most wins among all D1 teams in that span. The 58.3 win% ranks No. 7 among D1 teams with 20 or more games vs. ranked foes.
ROAD WARRIORS: Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Texas A&M has compiled a 37-30 record away from Reed Arena (road + neutral). The Aggies' 37 wins rank No. 10 among P5 teams and just behind SEC foes Tennessee (41), Alabama (40) and Auburn (39).
TIGHT GAMES ARE NORM: Similar to 2023-24, Texas A&M has already been involved in multiple games that were one-possession contests after the under-4:00 media timeout in the second half. The Aggies are 5-3 in those games. Dating back to last season, the Aggies have been involved in 24 one-score affairs after the final media timeout (13-11 record).
JUST WEIRD: For the first time since the start of the 2022-23 season, someone not named Wade Taylor IV is the Aggies' leading scorer. With two more games under his belt, Zhuric Phelps has taken over the scoring lead from WT4, 231-204.
LIMITING FGM: Texas A&M and Tennessee are the only SEC schools that haven't allowed more than 28 FGM in a game this season. The two teams are No. 1 and No. 2 among SEC schools in FGM defense at 20.6 (UT) and 21.6 (TAMU).
SWEET 17: Texas A&M pounds the offensive glass for a NCAA-best 17.1 offensive rebounds/G in 2024-25.
IN THEIR DNA: Eleven SEC players have reeled in 40+ offensive rebounds - the Aggies have three of them (Coleman III, Washington, Payne). No other school has more than one.
EARNING TRIPS: Texas A&M has earned at least 20 trips to the FT line 12 times (10-2 record). The Aggies have earned 40+ FTA in three games, including 48 on Saturday vs. Alabama (3rd-most in school history).
BOARDS ADVANTAGE: A&M has been out-rebounded just twice this season and own a 9.9/G rebound margin for the season (No. 9 nationally).
PAYNE GAIN: Pharrel Payne is the Aggies' top bench scorer at 10.8 points/G. Since the start of December, Payne is shooting an NCAA-best 82.5% (33-40) from the field (among players with at least 25 FGA).
Payne's line vs. ALA was: 24 points (6-8 FGA, 11-15 FTA), 9 rebounds (6 offensive) and 4 blocks in 23 minutes.
NOTING THE TRENDS
TV/RADIO
- Texas A&M beat the Wildcats twice last season and will be seeking its third straight victory in the series on Tuesday.
- Kentucky holds a 13-6 advantage in the all-time series that began in the 1941-42 season.
- Five of the Aggies' six wins over the Wildcats have come as SEC brethren. In SEC play, the Wildcats hold an 11-5 advantage.
- Under Buzz Williams, the Aggies are 2-3 vs. the Wildcats.
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
| Statistic | Kentucky | Opp. | Texas A&M | Opp. |
| FGM | 31.5 | 26.9 | 26.2 | 21.6 |
| FGA | 64.9 | 64.4 | 60.8 | 55.8 |
| FG% | .486 | .417 | .431 | .387 |
| 3PM | 10.2 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 8.1 |
| 3PA | 27.8 | 27.4 | 21.8 | 26.1 |
| 3P% | .367 | 0.282 | .309 | .309 |
| FTM | 16 | 13.4 | 18.3 | 14.1 |
| FTA | 21.8 | 19 | 26.4 | 18.9 |
| FT% | .736 | .707 | .692 | .743 |
| Off. Reb | 11.3 | 10.9 | 17.1 | 11.1 |
| Def. Reb | 29.6 | 25.4 | 25.3 | 21.4 |
| Rebounds | 40.9 | 36.3 | 42.3 | 32.4 |
| Assists | 18.6 | 12 | 12.9 | 13.4 |
| Steals | 7.1 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 7.6 |
| Blocks | 4.7 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| Turnovers | 9.7 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 14.6 |
| Points | 89.2 | 74.9 | 77.4 | 65.4 |
NEED-TO-KNOWS
SUCCESS VS. AP TOP 25: Since March of 2022, the Aggies have posted a 14-10 record against ranked teams, which is the seventh-most wins among all D1 teams in that span. The 58.3 win% ranks No. 7 among D1 teams with 20 or more games vs. ranked foes.
ROAD WARRIORS: Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Texas A&M has compiled a 37-30 record away from Reed Arena (road + neutral). The Aggies' 37 wins rank No. 10 among P5 teams and just behind SEC foes Tennessee (41), Alabama (40) and Auburn (39).
TIGHT GAMES ARE NORM: Similar to 2023-24, Texas A&M has already been involved in multiple games that were one-possession contests after the under-4:00 media timeout in the second half. The Aggies are 5-3 in those games. Dating back to last season, the Aggies have been involved in 24 one-score affairs after the final media timeout (13-11 record).
JUST WEIRD: For the first time since the start of the 2022-23 season, someone not named Wade Taylor IV is the Aggies' leading scorer. With two more games under his belt, Zhuric Phelps has taken over the scoring lead from WT4, 231-204.
LIMITING FGM: Texas A&M and Tennessee are the only SEC schools that haven't allowed more than 28 FGM in a game this season. The two teams are No. 1 and No. 2 among SEC schools in FGM defense at 20.6 (UT) and 21.6 (TAMU).
SWEET 17: Texas A&M pounds the offensive glass for a NCAA-best 17.1 offensive rebounds/G in 2024-25.
IN THEIR DNA: Eleven SEC players have reeled in 40+ offensive rebounds - the Aggies have three of them (Coleman III, Washington, Payne). No other school has more than one.
EARNING TRIPS: Texas A&M has earned at least 20 trips to the FT line 12 times (10-2 record). The Aggies have earned 40+ FTA in three games, including 48 on Saturday vs. Alabama (3rd-most in school history).
BOARDS ADVANTAGE: A&M has been out-rebounded just twice this season and own a 9.9/G rebound margin for the season (No. 9 nationally).
PAYNE GAIN: Pharrel Payne is the Aggies' top bench scorer at 10.8 points/G. Since the start of December, Payne is shooting an NCAA-best 82.5% (33-40) from the field (among players with at least 25 FGA).
Payne's line vs. ALA was: 24 points (6-8 FGA, 11-15 FTA), 9 rebounds (6 offensive) and 4 blocks in 23 minutes.
NOTING THE TRENDS
- Senior transfer Zhuric Phelps averaged a SEC-best 29.0 points along with 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in two games last week against ranked opponents. Phelps' career-high 34-point explosion on the road against No. 17 Oklahoma fueled a rally from a second-half 18-point deficit in a 80-78 win. In the second half against the Sooners, Phelps torched the Sooners for 28 points and hit the clutch 3-pointer to clinch the win with 19 seconds remaining. Against the No. 5 Crimson Tide, Phelps paced the Aggies with 24 points as they rallied from 15 points down to make it a one-possession game in the waning minutes.
- Phelps has reached double-digit points in seven straight games and 12 of 15 as an Aggie. He has 5+ rebounds in five straight games, including a season-high 10 vs. ACU (12/28).
- Henry Coleman III tallied his first double-double of the season and 16th of his A&M career with 12 points-11 rebounds vs. Alabama.
- Hayden Hefner has averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists over his last five games, including 16 points and five rebounds vs. UA.
- Texas A&M has earned 40+ rebounds in 11 games, while just allowing 40+ opponent rebounds just twice.
- In SEC play, the Aggies average 8.0 turnovers while forcing 15.0./G.
- Wade Taylor IV is averaging a 2.33 assist/turnover ratio, which is far ahead of his career best of 1.49 as a sophomore in 2022-23.
- In three starts in place of Taylor, Manny Obaseki has averaged 6.3 points and 2.7 assists while suffering just three turnovers.
- In his last 10 games, Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne has hit 78.7% of his FGA while averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks
- The Aggies have demonstrated uncommon depth this season: 11 players average at least 10 minutes of action, including five players with at least 20:00/G. Also, 10 players average at least 4.0 points/G and eight Aggies average 3.0+ rebounds/G.
TV/RADIO
- The matchup airs on the Texas A&M Radio Network, locally on 1620 AM/94.5 FM or worldwide on the 12th Man Mobile App with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton describing the action. It is also available on SiriusXM on channels: 160 or 192.
- The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes providing the description.
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