Aggies turn in 2nd upset of SEC quarterfinals, downing No. 9 Kentucky 97-87
AP
Mar 16, 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The Texas A&M Aggies improved their candidacy for the NCAA Tournament at Kentucky Wildcats's expense, and coach John Calipari got another reminder that his Wildcats must defend better to finish this season in a winning fashion.
Wade Taylor IV scored 32 points as Texas A&M upset ninth-ranked Kentucky 97-87 Friday night for the second biggest upset of the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
“He just has an elite level IQ off the floor," Aggies coach Buzz Williams said of Taylor. "But he has just as high of an IQ as a player. And he understands time scoring momentum arguably as well as anybody I’ve ever been around. He obviously has the ability to score, but he kind of has a vibe for, ‘Should I score? Should I shoot?’”
Calipari noted Texas A&M's eighth Quad 1 win, saying the Aggies are fine for an NCAA berth. Williams wouldn't answer when asked about that prediction.
The seventh-seeded Aggies won their fifth straight to reach Saturday's semifinals for the third time since joining the SEC and second in three seasons. The Aggies, who lost the final in 2016 and 2022, will play Florida, a 102-88 winner over No. 19 Alabama as the SEC's top three seeds all lost their openers Friday.
Texas A&M lost the 2022 title game to Tennessee, the regular season champs who were ousted in Friday's first game by Mississippi State.
Tyrece Radford added 23 points, Manny Obaseki had 17 and Solomon Washington 11 for Texas A&M (20-13). The Aggies beat Kentucky for the second time after needing overtime on Jan. 13.
Not Friday night.
The loss snapped Kentucky's five-game winning streak that had been the SEC's longest coming into this tournament. Now the Wildcats (23-9), whose 31 titles have set such a standard this event is often called the Kentucky Invitational, are going home still looking for their first tournament championship since 2018.
Calipari said his Wildcats didn't pass the ball the way they had been doing during their streak.
“When the ball stops, we’re not the same team,” Calipari said. “Go 1-on-5, you can’t make a play that way. We haven’t for weeks. Today we kind of did. ... But they deserved that game the way they played. Again, I mean, we give up 97. How many games you going to win giving up 97 points?”
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky's leading scorer averaging 22.2 points, was limited to 18 minutes before fouling out and finishing with 13 points. Rob Dillingham led Kentucky with 27 points, and Reed Sheppard added 14.
The Aggies jumped out with eight of the first nine points to help quiet the Kentucky faithful that filled much of Bridgestone Arena. Then they kept knocking down 3s, shooting better outside the arc than inside.
Taylor led the way in a game that felt much more like a tennis match with both teams sprinting up and down the court. Texas A&M led 48-42 at halftime.
Kentucky last led when Sheppard finished off a steal with a fast-break layup for a 16-15 edge at 13:15. Washington answered with a 3, and the Aggies never trailed again.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: The Aggies scored a season-high in points in regulation. The SEC's best at protecting the ball did it again. They had a 6-14 edge in turnovers that they turned into an 18-4 scoring advantage. The Aggies now are 13-2 when having nine or fewer turnovers. ... They also had a 26-9 edge in second-chance points.
Kentucky: The Wildcats fell to 46-13 in quarterfinals and 135-30 all-time. ... Tre Mitchell also fouled out.
UP NEXT
The Aggies play Florida in the semifinals on Saturday.
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1st Half
TXAM
Aggies
48
UK
Wildcats
42
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Wildens Leveque vs. Ugonna Onyenso (D.J. Wagner gains possession)
19:38
Justin Edwards misses three point jump shot
19:36
Ugonna Onyenso offensive rebound
19:29
Solomon Washington shooting foul (Antonio Reeves draws the foul)
19:29
+1
Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 1 of 2
0-1
19:29
Antonio Reeves misses regular free throw 2 of 2
19:29
Tyrece Radford defensive rebound
19:13
Ugonna Onyenso blocks Manny Obaseki's two point layup
19:11
Wildens Leveque offensive rebound
18:58
+3
Manny Obaseki makes three point jump shot (Wade Taylor IV assists)
3-1
18:51
Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot
18:49
Wildens Leveque defensive rebound
18:44
+3
Wade Taylor IV makes three point jump shot
6-1
18:30
Justin Edwards turnover (bad pass) (Solomon Washington steals)
18:22
+2
Wade Taylor IV makes two point layup
8-1
18:21
Wildcats 30 second timeout
18:12
Justin Edwards misses three point jump shot
18:10
Wildcats offensive rebound
17:55
D.J. Wagner misses two point jump shot
17:53
Andersson Garcia defensive rebound
17:41
Ugonna Onyenso blocks Andersson Garcia's two point layup
17:39
Adou Thiero defensive rebound
17:21
+3
Antonio Reeves makes three point jump shot (D.J. Wagner assists)
8-4
17:04
Adou Thiero blocks Solomon Washington's two point jump shot
17:02
Aggies offensive rebound
16:58
+3
Wade Taylor IV makes three point jump shot (Andersson Garcia assists)
11-4
16:47
+3
Rob Dillingham makes three point jump shot (Antonio Reeves assists)
11-7
16:30
+3
Tyrece Radford makes three point jump shot (Solomon Washington assists)
14-7
16:16
Manny Obaseki shooting foul (Adou Thiero draws the foul)
16:16
+1
Adou Thiero makes regular free throw 1 of 2
14-8
16:16
Adou Thiero misses regular free throw 2 of 2
16:16
Andersson Garcia defensive rebound
15:54
Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
15:52
Andersson Garcia offensive rebound
15:49
Jace Carter misses three point jump shot
15:47
Adou Thiero defensive rebound
15:45
TV timeout
15:33
+2
Rob Dillingham makes two point layup
14-10
15:22
Rob Dillingham personal foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
15:11
Zvonimir Ivisic shooting foul (Andersson Garcia draws the foul)
15:11
+1
Andersson Garcia makes regular free throw 1 of 2
15-10
15:11
Andersson Garcia misses regular free throw 2 of 2
15:11
Tre Mitchell defensive rebound
14:59
Andersson Garcia personal foul (Zvonimir Ivisic draws the foul)
14:56
Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot
14:54
Henry Coleman III defensive rebound
14:54
Tre Mitchell personal foul (Henry Coleman III draws the foul)
14:43
Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
14:41
Zvonimir Ivisic defensive rebound
14:33
+2
Antonio Reeves makes two point jump shot (Reed Sheppard assists)
15-12
14:19
Zvonimir Ivisic blocks Tyrece Radford's two point layup
14:17
Wildcats defensive rebound
13:57
Zvonimir Ivisic turnover (lost ball) (Henry Coleman III steals)
13:49
Wade Taylor IV turnover (bad pass) (Reed Sheppard steals)
13:43
+2
Reed Sheppard makes two point layup
15-14
13:28
Wade Taylor IV misses two point jump shot
13:26
Tre Mitchell defensive rebound
13:16
+2
Tre Mitchell makes two point layup (Rob Dillingham assists)
15-16
13:07
Aggies 30 second timeout
12:57
+3
Solomon Washington makes three point jump shot (Wade Taylor IV assists)
18-16
12:39
Antonio Reeves offensive foul (Solomon Washington draws the foul)
12:39
Antonio Reeves turnover (offensive foul)
12:28
+2
Manny Obaseki makes two point layup
20-16
12:13
Hayden Hefner personal foul (Rob Dillingham draws the foul)
12:06
Rob Dillingham turnover (bad pass) (Manny Obaseki steals)
12:00
Tyrece Radford misses three point jump shot
11:58
Rob Dillingham defensive rebound
11:53
Rob Dillingham misses two point layup
11:51
Tyrece Radford defensive rebound
11:47
Tyrece Radford misses two point layup
11:45
Reed Sheppard defensive rebound
11:37
D.J. Wagner offensive foul (Andersson Garcia draws the foul)
11:37
D.J. Wagner turnover (offensive foul)
11:37
TV timeout
11:21
Zvonimir Ivisic blocks Manny Obaseki's two point jump shot
11:19
Andersson Garcia offensive rebound
11:11
Justin Edwards shooting foul (Tyrece Radford draws the foul)
11:11
+1
Tyrece Radford makes regular free throw 1 of 2
21-16
11:11
+1
Tyrece Radford makes regular free throw 2 of 2
22-16
10:53
+3
Reed Sheppard makes three point jump shot (Justin Edwards assists)
22-19
10:36
Aaron Bradshaw blocks Solomon Washington's two point jump shot
10:34
Hayden Hefner offensive rebound
10:26
+2
Hayden Hefner makes two point layup
24-19
10:22
+3
Reed Sheppard makes three point jump shot (D.J. Wagner assists)