Game Notes: Kentucky 76, Texas A&M 67

Game Notes: Kentucky 76, Texas A&M 67

Below are game notes from Kentucky's 76-67 win over the Texas A&M Aggies: 

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky won its third in a row and is 13-6 overall, 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
• Texas A&M is 13-6 overall, ending a seven-game win streak, and is 5-1 in league play.
• Kentucky holds a 13-4 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last four.
• UK leads 7-2 in games played in Lexington and has won the last five vs. the Aggies in Rupp Arena.
• Next for UK: on Tuesday, the Wildcats travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Game time is 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT in Nashville) and the game will be televised on SEC Network.

Team Notes

• In a game featuring 10 ties and 11 lead changes, UK took the lead for good with 8:29 to go and won 76-67.
• For the second game in a row, Kentucky trailed at halftime but came back to win.
• The last time that happened was Jan. 2 and 5, 2021, when the Wildcats rallied from halftime deficits to win at Mississippi State and at home vs. Vanderbilt.
• Kentucky made 11 of 32 on 3-point shots. It’s the most threes attempted since the Wildcats launched 33 long balls vs. Chattanooga on Dec. 17, 2011.
• Kentucky won the rebounding 39-30, including 23-10 in the decisive second half.
• UK won offensive rebounding 18-4, leading to a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points.
• Kentucky won despite Texas A&M going 16 of 16 at the foul line. The last time a Kentucky opponent went perfect on at least 16 attempts from the line in a single game was Arkansas in a 71-67 Razorback overtime win Feb. 27, 2014.

Player Notes

• Antonio Reeves came off the bench to lead the Wildcats with a season-high 23 points, his 14th double-figure game of the season.
• He made five 3-pointers, one shy of his career best. With 8:29 remaining, he hit the 3-pointer that broke a tie and put the Wildcats ahead for good, 56-53.
• Jacob Toppin had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.
• UK is 4-0 this season when Toppin scores at least 17.

CJ Fredrick had 12 points, his third time in the last four games in double figures. 

• Cason Wallace had 11 points, his 11th double-figure scoring game of the season.
• He led the Wildcats with four assists, the sixth time this season he has paced the Cats in that category.
• After scoring no points and grabbing three rebounds in the first half while limited by foul trouble, Oscar Tshiebwe bounced back to finish with seven points and 17 rebounds.
• It is the fourth time this season he has garnered at least 17 boards in a game and 13th time in his two seasons as a Wildcat.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari is 12-3 vs. Texas A&M, with all but one win coming at UK.
• Calipari has an 823-247 all-time on-court record and is 378-107 in 14 seasons at UK.
• UK is 310-60 (83.8%) against unranked competition under Calipari.

Rupp Arena

• Kentucky is 644-78 (89.2%) in the 47-year history of Rupp Arena, including 349-47 (88.1%) vs. SEC foes.
• Kentucky is 217-18 (92.3%) in Rupp Arena under Calipari.

In the First Half

• Kentucky opened with a starting lineup of Cason Wallace, CJ Fredrick, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe for the third game in a row.
• Both teams struggled early with Texas A&M getting the first basket at the 17:42 mark.
• UK trailed 4-0 when Fredrick got UK on the board with a 3-pointer at 16:35.
• Antonio Reeves was the first substitute at the 15:56 mark and immediately hit a 3-pointer, tying the game at 6.
• Trailing 13-12, UK got consecutive threes from Reeves, Livingston and Livingston again to go up 21-15.
• TAMU replied with a 14-2 run to go up 29-23, coaxing UK’s second timeout at 4:09.
• TAMU went to halftime with a 31-29 lead (see note above on UK trailing at halftime). Reeves led the Wildcats with nine points and Toppin added nine.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• Kentucky scored the first five points of the half, with a three by Fredrick putting the Cats up 34-31.
• With UK up 36-35 at the 17:00 mark, Tshiebwe was fouled on a shot attempt. After video review, Tshiebwe was called for a previously unviewed flagrant foul and Julius Marble of A&M was called for a common foul and technical foul.
• Marble made two free throws, Fredrick made two free throws; UK was given the ball out of bounds and Wallace made a jumper to make the score 40-35.
• Tshiebwe scored at the 13:55 mark, his first points of the game, to make it 47-44.
• TAMU scored seven straight points to make it 51-47.
• Trailing 53-51, UK got seven in a row to go back ahead 58-53 and the Wildcats never trailed again.
  
  

Ahead 59-57, Toppin made a free throw, missed the second, Wallace tracked down the rebound and found Reeves for his fifth 3-pointer of the game (63-57).