LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Texas A&M

Kentucky is shooting 44.8 percent from the field, 18.2 percent from three and 62.5 percent at the line compared to 44.4/35/58 splits for Texas A&M. The Wildcats didn’t score a field goal in the last four minutes as the Aggies turned a 27-2 run into a 45-33 lead after the road team pushed ahead by as many as 12.

Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen and Brandon Garrison have six each, followed by Mo Dioubate with four and Collin Chandler, Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson with three and Andrija Jelavic with two. Ruben Dominguez went for 14 points on 4-5 from three for A&M, followed by Rylan Griffen with eight and Rashaun Agee and Ali Dibba with six.

UK has turned it over seven times compared to just two for A&M, leading to 10 points off turnovers for the Aggies. Their bench is also outscoring ours 31-13.

Just not good enough.

Another 10-0 run for A&M makes it a 23-2 run over the last six minutes as Kentucky is completely out of sorts in College Station. A 12-point lead has turned into a nine-point deficit. The Cats haven’t scored a point in three minutes and have made one of their last 11 attempts from the field. They’re now shooting 46.4 percent overall and 18.2 percent from deep.

Just an epic collapse.

Kentucky has turned it over seven times in the first 16 minutes, allowing that 12-point lead we just talked about to flip to a one-point Texas A&M lead. The Aggies have gone on a 13-0 run in the last 3:10 as the Wildcats have missed five straight shots with three turnovers in that stretch.

A road blowout was there for the taking, and now, it’s a brand new ballgame as things wrap up here in the first half.

Unreal.

Kentucky pushed the lead to 12 and found Trent Noah wide-stinking-open on the right wing for a three to go up 15 and blow the game open. He couldn’t get it to fall, leading to a three on the other end to cut it to single digits for Texas A&M.

You hate it for him because he’s fighting defensively and on the glass, just as he’s done in recent weeks for the Cats. He’s providing great minutes, just can’t get a single shot to fall through the net. That one was a big miss, unfortunately.

How about a nice little 6-0 run in 1:20 to take a 10-point lead at Reed Arena? They’re shooting lights-out with 69/50/100 splits as A&M has not scored a point in the last two minutes with one field goal in its last 11 attempts for 29/13/63 splits.

So, make that both of Kentucky’s lead ball handlers with a pair of early fouls. Denzel Aberdeen picked up two in the opening segment, then Jasper Johnson joined him in the next stretch, the latter earning his second foul at the 10:44 mark. He’s got three points and two assists with one turnover in five minutes.

The good news? The Cats are shooting 73% from the field, 50% from three and 100% at the line to lead 22-16. The Aggies are shooting just 40/20/63 splits in the first 11 minutes.

How about Brandon Garrison? He’s stepped up in a major way for UK, scoring six quick points on 3-4 shooting with a steal in six minutes.

Otega Oweh is off to a hot start with six quick points and four made free throws with two rebounds and an assist in four minutes, followed by Collin Chandler with three and Mo Dioubate with two. As a team, Kentucky is shooting 75 percent from the field, 100 percent from three and 100 percent at the line.

Six different Aggies have put points on the board with A&M shooting 66.7 percent from the field on six shot attempts with six free throws.

Not good for the Cats, folks. Kentucky is already shorthanded at point guard, obviously, with Jaland Lowe out for the season with a shoulder injury, leaving Denzel Aberdeen as the primary ball handler.

He just picked up his second foul at the 15:54 mark in the first half, forcing Jasper Johnson out there early — and maybe for an extended period with Aberdeen stuck on the bench.

Pope said before the game that this could be a big Jasper game. He’s gonna have to prove it.

Add another successful challenge to the long list this season for the Cats — this time on a charge call on Otega Oweh. Kentucky’s video coordinator, Matt Santoro, threw the flag on the officials, saying Zach Clemence was in the restricted area and should instead be called for the shooting foul.

Santoro, again, was correct with the call overturned in favor of the good guys.

Well done, staff.

The ball is tipped in College Station and the crowd is not going to help out the home team — at least early. Apparently everyone is at the baseball game down the street? That’s what KSR’s Adam Stratton says, adding that blue DEFINITELY got in, so be prepared for some GBBs if things go well for the Cats.

As expected, it will be the same five-man group getting us rolling at the opening tip. Denzel Aberdeen will hold down the fort at point guard, followed by Collin Chandler at the two, Otega Oweh at the three, Andrija Jelavic at the four and Malachi Moreno at the five.

As for Texas A&M, it will be a brand-new starting lineup on Senior Night with Marcus Hill, Pop Isaacs, Ali Dibba, Zach Clemence and Federiko Federiko getting the nod.

Pope was asked about the help Kentucky needs off the bench to alleviate the pressure for the core starters in Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler. His answer? Keep a close eye on Jasper Johnson.

“I believe in our guys off the bench. We’re putting the ball in Mo’s hands — he can handle the pressure. Trent is really one of our best protect-the-ball guys. Jasper — this game is kind of tailor-made for Jasper. I expect those guys to be great. And BG, of course, has been playing good for us.”

Play fast and fire up some threes? Your time to shine, Jasper.

What can you expect from the Aggies? Coach Pope shared his thoughts on the matchup with Tom Leach.

“They press on every single possession. They’re almost more interested in — (instead of) grabbing an offensive rebound, they’re running to their defensive matchup. If our five-man grabs a defensive rebound by the time he lands on the floor, he’s gonna have a defender chest-to-chest with him for 94 feet, really pressuring them. That’s unique. They change up their defense a lot, of course, they shoot a lot of threes, but they’re really aggressive on the defensive end. They’re changing defenses and shooting threes and playing together. They’re a good team — a really good team.”

Officiating has been a major talking point in recent weeks, so what’s in store tonight for the Cats? K.B. Burdett Jr., Don Daily and Jason Baker will make up the three-man group in College Station.

UK is 41-11 in games with Daily, 20-10 with Burdett and 15-1 with Baker. The Wildcats have not seen any of the three this season, but saw all of them in Mark Pope’s first season. Daily officiated the Colgate (78-67 W), Georgia (82-69 L), Arkansas (89-79 L) and Missouri (91-83 W) games last year while Burdett was a part of the Georgia State (105-76 W), Texas A&M (81-69 W), Vanderbilt (74-69 L), Auburn (94-78 L) and Alabama (99-70 L) matchups. Baker was there for just three in 2024-25: Wright State (103-62 W), Jackson State (108-59 W) and LSU (95-64 W).

Hopefully they all add another win to their totals by the end of the night.

• Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 383

The final Tuesday of the regular season is a huge one, with seven SEC games tipping off between 6 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET. Here’s the schedule:

• 6:00 PM ET – Tennessee at South Carolina — SEC Network
• 6:30 PM ET – Alabama at Georgia — ESPNEWS
• 7:00 PM ET – Kentucky at Texas A&M — ESPN2
• 7:00 PM ET – Missouri at Oklahoma — ESPNU
• 8:00 PM ET – Mississippi State at Florida — SEC Network
• 9:00 PM ET – Vanderbilt at Ole Miss — SECN+
• 10:00 PM ET – LSU at Auburn — SEC Network