The 10-year rivalry lives on as Texas A&M welcomes the Kentucky Wildcats into Reed Arena for the maroon and white’s last home game of the season on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Since the Aggies joined the SEC before the 2012-2013 season, they have a record of 8-5 against the Wildcats. The last matchup between the Aggies and the Wildcats was on Feb. 6, 2022, where the Aggies won 73-64.
This season is one of disappointment, injuries and inconsistency as the Aggies currently have a season record of 6-17 and a conference record of 1-12. However, A&M looks to end this season on a high note. The Aggies have performed better offensively as of late and have had a good defense all season, but they haven’t been able to produce many wins.
Kentucky’s season has been similarly underwhelming, with an overall record of 10-16 and a conference record of 2-12. The Wildcats’ struggles have continued late into the season as they lost five-straight heading into this game. Kentucky’s offense has been its strength this year, however, its defense has been unable to stop its opponents. Though the offense has been their brightspot, the Wildcats have fallen off a bit offensively, as their 70 points per game for the season has fallen to 57 points per game.
A&M have also found themselves in a tough stretch recently as they are currently on a six-game losing streak and their most recent loss was a 35-61 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Monday, Feb. 21; a game where the Aggie’s scored their second lowest total number of points the season.
Coach Joni Taylor told 12thMan.com that the team has struggled this year.
“Well, it’s been a challenge all year long,” Taylor told 12thman.com. “We knew it would be a challenge. We intentionally prepared them to make sure they’re all on the same page of playing hard and getting better. ”
During the maroon and white’s loss to the Tigers, they held the Tigers to their second fewest amount of points in a game this season. Unfortunately, the Aggies shot themselves into a deficit by going 4-28 for only 10 points in the first half to the Tigers 25 points.
Going into the game against Kentucky, A&M’s leading scorer is freshman forward Janiah Barker, who averages 12.3 points. Senior forward Aaliyah Patty is the team’s leading rebounder as she averages 7.3 rebounds per game.
Kentucky’s leading scorer is senior guard Robyn Benton with an average of 16.5 points per game shooting 38% from the field. Junior guard Maddie Scherr leads the Wildcats in rebounds with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game.
The showdown between the Aggies and the Wildcats will be televised on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. live from Reed Arena.
