Calipari stammered<\/a> during the post-game presser following the team’s win over then-No. Twenty-two ranked Tennessee.<\/p>\nIt isn’t realistic to believe that the Kentucky kids can travel to the Reed Arena galaxy far, far away and duplicate the sideshow they performed Saturday against the Vols.<\/p>\n
The Aggies’ 15-2 record hasn’t been gifted but earned. So it was a surprise to find the Advanced Analysis of College Basketball, KenPom, ranking the Aggies at the No. 59th spot of Division I. The College Station crew has the 88th ranked Adj. Efficiency Offense and 47th ranked Adjusted Efficiency Defense in the college ranks. A&M owns a 52.9 percent Effective FG% which is the 70th best or 358 Division I programs, and the near-elite defense of Texas A&M has held the opposition to a shooting just north of 30 percent from the 3-point line this season.<\/p>\n
A deeper look at the Aggies also reveals that inside of their 15 wins, they have but one quality non-conference victory, a 73-67 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on neutral wood. A&M’s two losses came versus the Wisconsin Badgers and TCU Horned Frogs, both in tournament action during the Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas period.<\/p>\n
Eight of the Aggies’ other 14 victories have come via KenPom teams rank 217th or lower. This group includes North Florida, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Houston Baptist, New Orleans, Northwestern State, Dallas Christian, Central Arkansas, and Georgia.<\/p>\n
The remaining six “Dubs” came against (146) Abilene Christian, (130) Butler, (140) Oregon State, and along with (217) Georgia the other three conference wins over (38) Arkansas, (118) Mississippi, and (139) Missouri. The previous statement that Texas A&M’s 15 wins weren’t gifted but earned might be a wee bit overstated.<\/p>\n
The Aggies are an aberration of sorts. The fact that A&M ranks 34th in 3-point accuracy, leading scorer Quenton Jackson averages 13 points per game and shoots nearly 40 percent from distance plus hits 80 percent of his free throws makes the College Station crew a one-man show. As Jackson goes, so go the Aggies. Contain Jackson, and little else is required to take down the Aggies.<\/p>\n
The Jackson mentioned above has capable metrics and acceptable percentages. However, as a team, Texas A&M shoots under 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from beyond the arc, and the telling tale of what kind of offensive squad the Aggies becomes transparent when viewing the player personnel’s combined 63.9 percent accuracy from the charity stripe.<\/p>\n
Wildcats Show Proof of Vaccination and Are Declared the Winner …<\/h3>\n
Winning for Kentucky on Wednesday night starts and stops by paying attention to the A&M backcourt personnel standing at the 3-point line and standing tall on the defensive and offensive glass.<\/p>\n
The Wildcats opponent tonight, Texas A&M, has squared off against below-average Division I programs. Further distressing for A&M faithful is that the Aggies have allowed the team’s schedule lower-class Division I foes to rebound over 30 percent of their missed shots. The 30.8 percent of missed shots that the Aggies surrender ranks them 270th in the highest level of collegiate hoops.<\/p>\n
Calipari’s roster is the 4th most efficient offense, and 27th ranked defense in college basketball, according to the KenPom metrics. As a team, Kentucky has the 14th best shooting percentage from the field and holds their game night foe to a lower shooting rate than 331 of the 358 Division I teams. In addition, the Cats shoot nearly 75 percent from the charity stripe and rebound over 40 percent of their missed shots.<\/p>\n
Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe, a 6’9″ junior power forward, senior guards Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady plus already mentioned TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler give coach Cal the best first five and deepest bench in the college ranks.<\/p>\n
Kentucky vs Texas A&M Prediction<\/h3>\n
Aggies coach Buzz Williams has done a masterful job with this roster. After losing most of his key pieces from last season through the transfer wormhole this past offseason, Williams has his group of player personnel outperforming their skill set by leaps and bounds.<\/p>\n
Texas A&M is, was in just a few hours, riding an eight-game winning streak, seven of which are Quad 3 folder fodder or worse. Unfortunately, Texas A&M’s winning streak ends before intermission arrives tonight, and while Kentucky doesn’t perform an encore of Saturday’s dance with Tennessee, the margin of victory is similar.<\/p>\n
The WagerTalk pick to click at Reed Arena in College Station is a play on Kentucky minus the points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Kentucky](\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/kent-texam-gs-1-19.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"College](\"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/cbb-stat-sheet-1-19.png\")
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