How Kentucky can beat Texas A&M with Wade Taylor IV officially ruled out
It's gameday for the Kentucky Wildcats as they are set to host the Texas A&M Aggies in Rupp Arena. Texas A&M will be without its star player on Tuesday evening as Wade Taylor IV is set to miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury.
Taylor IV has historically played really well against Kentucky during his career, so it's a positive for the Wildcats that he won't be on the floor in this ball game.
Texas A&M is a very interesting team because the Aggies only have two players who average over ten points per game. One is Taylor IV (15.7 ppg), and the other is Zhuric Phelps, who averages 15.4 points per game. Knowing that these two players are the only source of offense for the Aggies and Taylor IV won't suit up shutting down Phelps is the biggest key to victory for the Wildcats.
This will be the assignment for Lamont Butler, who is one of the best on-ball defenders in college basketball. Phelps, in these last two games without Taylor IV, attempted 29 field goals against Alabama and 25 against Oklahoma. This means that he is the only way the Aggies can score. If Kentucky can make him inefficient, they will win this game.
Texas A&M is the best team in college basketball when it comes to offensive rebounding, so the Wildcats need to focus on defensive rebounding in this game. If Kentucky holds their own on the defensive glass and shuts down Phelps, they will win this game and cover the -6.5-point spread.