After losing the SEC opener to Tennessee at home, Aggie men’s hoops looks to bounce back as they travel to take on the conference’s best team, the Kentucky Wildcats. The Aggies and Wildcats have played some tight contests the last few years, with four of the last five games going to overtime.
Last season’s regular season matchup ended with A&M center Tyler Davis laying in the game-winning basket in overtime. A&M and Kentucky then met again in the SEC tournament championship game, where Kentucky secured the title with an 82-77 win again in overtime.
Texas A&M is led by a pair of sophomores in center Tyler Davis and forward DJ Hogg. Davis leads the team in scoring and rebounds, averaging 14.3 and 7.8, respectively. Hogg is averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, while leading the team with 21 points in its loss to Tennessee on Thursday.
Kentucky is led by a pair of freshmen guards, which shouldn’t come as a surprise with how well Wildcat head coach John Calipari recruits. Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox were both top 10 recruits coming out of high school, and they’ve played like it so far for Kentucky. Monk averages 22.4 points a game, while Fox averages 15.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game. Both players will likely be taken in the top 10 of next year’s NBA draft.
Speaking of the NBA draft, Aggie freshman big man Robert Williams has been getting some love from NBA scouts and draft analysts. Williams is the first man of the bench for Billy Kennedy’s Aggies and averages 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and a team leading 2.4 blocks a game. Nbadraft.net, draftexpress.com, and bleacherreport.com have all released mock drafts with Williams landing in the first round, one even has Williams going as high as 12th overall.
Expect the Aggies and Wildcats to battle it out yet again on Tuesday night. A&M and Kentucky will tip in Lexington, Kentucky at 8 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.
