Live updates: Kentucky basketball vs. Texas A&M in SEC Basketball Tournament
As the No. 2 seed, the Kentucky Wildcats open their SEC Tournament run on Friday night against the No. 7 seed Texas A&M Aggies in a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena. The SEC Network has the television coverage.
Texas A&M defeated No. 10 seed Ole Miss 80-71 in a second round game of the tournament on Thursday night. The Aggies defeated Kentucky 97-92 in overtime on Jan. 13 in College Station.
Ben Roberts, Silas Walker and yours truly will be courtside at Bridgestone to bring you updates. You can follow us on Twitter at @BenRobertsHL, @sigh_las and @johnclayiv.
You can follow a dedicated UK basketball Twitter feed by clicking here.
Final: Texas A&M 97, Kentucky 87
Texas A&M 88-80 with 2:03 left
Wade Taylor has 30 points and Tyrece Radford 24 as Texas A&M leads Kentucky 88-80 with 2:03 left. Kentucky cut the lead to six but has not been able to draw closer.
Texas A&M extends lead to 14 points
The Aggies are now 11-for-24 from 3-point range and lead Kentucky 78-64 with 7:07 left. Wade Taylor is up to 28 points. And the Wildcats have no answers on defense.
Texas A&M 67-59 with 11:29 left
Kentucky is having one heck of a time stopping Texas A&M from getting to the rim. Aggies have scored on six straight possessions and lead Kentucky 67-59 with 11:29 left. Buzz Williams’ team has made 7 of 14 shots this half for 50%. Taylor with 22 points. Radford has 19.
Texas A&M 56-51 with 15:47 left
The Aggies are up on No. 2 seed Kentucky 56-47 with 15:47 left here at Bridgestone Arena. Wade Taylor has 20 points and Tyrece Radford with 14 for Texas A&M. Reed Sheppard leads UK with 14. Antonio Reeves has nine points and picked up his third foul at the 18:16 mark.
Halftime: Texas A&M 48, Kentucky 42
Wade Taylor scored 18 points and Tyrece Radford added 12 as Texas A&M led Kentucky 48-42 at the half.
The Aggies were 8-of-16 from 3-point range in the first half. They had a 13-1 advantage in second-chance points.
Reed Sheppard led Kentucky with 14 points.
Texas A&M 45-34 with 2:59 left in the first half
Here’s how it has gone so far. The shot clock was about to run out on the Aggies when Tyrece Radford hit a jumper from the left baseline to give the Aggies a 45-34 lead with 2:59 left in the first half.
A&M is 16-of-34 from the floor for 47.1%. The Aggies have made 8 of 14 3-point shots. UK is 14-of-27 for 51.9%. The Cats are 6-of-12 from three.
Big stat is second-chance points: Texas A&M 13, Kentucky 1.
Wade Taylor with 15 points already
Wade Taylor scored 31 points in Texas A&M’s win over Kentucky in College Station two months ago. The SEC preseason Player of the Year already has 15 points as the Aggies lead Kentucky 33-27 with 7:02 left in the first half. A&M is 6-of-11 from 3-point land.
Looking like about a 90% Kentucky crowd in Nashville for this one. pic.twitter.com/yEWeutvZME
— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) March 15, 2024
Texas A&M 20-16 with 11:38 left in 1H
An 8-0 spurt gave Kentucky a 16-15 lead, Texas A&M got a 3-pointer from Solomon Washington and a drive to the bucket by Manny Obaseki to put the Aggies in front 20-16 at the 11:38 TV timeout.
Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and D.J. Wagner were both hit with offensive fouls.
Texas A&M 14-8 at 15:45 mark
Kentucky missed the opening bell as the Aggies jumped to an 8-1 lead. Buzz Williams’ club hit its first four 3-point attempts. Now 4-of-6 from 3, Texas A&M leads Kentucky 14-8 at the 15:45 mark of the first half.
Officials for Kentucky vs. Texas A&M
Officials for Kentucky-Texas A&M are Doug Shows, Olandis Poole and Owen Shortt.
Shows has worked three Kentucky games this year -- Jan. 17 vs. Mississippi State; Feb. 3 vs. Tennessee and March 2 vs. Arkansas.
Poole worked UK’s loss at home to UNC Wilmington and win on the road at Florida.
Shortt worked Kentucky’s games against Stonehill, Georgia and Ole Miss.
Kentucky looking for revenge
As previously mentioned, Kentucky lost in College Station two months ago. Texas A&M’s backcourt duo of Wade Taylor (31) and Tyrece Radford (28) combined for 59 points. The Aggies also outrebounded UK 54-46 and collected 25 offensive rebounds.
Antonio Reeves led the Cats with 22 points. D.J. Wagner added 18. Tre Mitchell grabbed 13 rebounds and was credited with six assists. Kentucky shot 51.5 percent from the floor, but lost. UK was 15-of-39 from three-point range for 38.5%. The 39 attempts is a season high for John Calipari’s club.
Texas A&M came into that game at 0-2 in the conference. Buzz Williams’ team was at 6-9 before winning their final three regular-season games to finish 9-9 in the league. The loss to Texas A&M dropped to Kentucky to 2-1 in the SEC. The Cats were 8-5 before closing out the regular season with a five-game win streak.
Three takeaways from Texas A&M’s SEC Tournament win that earned a date with Kentucky
All you need to know about the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, including predictions
Hooked on a feeling: Why Kentucky will win the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Upset by Mississippi State, No. 1 seed Tennessee makes quick exit from SEC Tournament
