Kentucky Basketball beats Texas A&M Aggies: Final score, recap, 3 takeaways and more

The Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in Lexington on Tuesday night by a score of 81-69.

This game was sloppy from the start in both directions. Kentucky looked a little anxious and the Aggies looked a little too aggressive. Buzz Williams’ team settled in first, hitting seven 3s in the first half, but the Cats responded to take a 35-32 halftime lead.

After the break, the Cats locked it down and exploded. Kentucky extended its lead to 13 and kept the game out of reach the entire time. Even though they never strayed far, they never let him get too close.

The Cats are now 14-3 on the season and 3-1 in SEC play, including 5-0 against AP Top-25 teams.

Next, the Cats have a massive matchup against the top-five Alabama Crimson Tide in Lexington on Saturday at noon.

Here are three things to know about victory no. 14!

Bounce

For most of the first half, the Aggies outplayed and outplayed the Cats. Specifically, Koby Brea, who failed to knock down a shot, had a blatant play where he refused to go to the floor, leading to an A&M offensive rebound.

To be fair, the Aggies are one of, if not the best offensive rebounding teams in college basketball, so they were destined to burn the Cats here.

However, Kentucky heard the noise and locked down. Mark Pope’s team refused to be intimidated at home and matched the Aggies’ physicality and tenacity. Instead, it was the Cats who did the bullying. Amari Williams was particularly impressive and Jaxson Robinson used her length to his advantage. Williams helped put the game away late when the Aggies threatened to close it out.

Everyone knows that physicality has been Kentucky’s kryptonite, but that wasn’t the case tonight. The Wildcats stressed they are working to shed that “soft” label that was thrown around in losses to Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia.

They have certainly responded in a big way over the last two games.

Robinson continues his streak of success

Jaxson Robinson has been a topic of conversation for many this season. What was once considered Kentucky’s best player has become a punching bag after several uninspiring performances.

Robinson gained a reputation for “floating” and not earning his punches. He stood up and pulled when he caught it. As the season progressed, you saw the growth and rise in Robinson’s confidence.

It all finally came together last time out as the fifth-year senior dropped 27 points on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He continued to do the same during the match by letting everyone know there wasn’t a shot he didn’t like, scoring 22 points on 8/17 shooting.

Robinson’s recent improvement is huge for Kentucky moving forward.

Similar stat lines hit differently

Travis Perry had a big night, and Otega Oweh didn’t, but they had two similar stat lines that were important for different reasons.

For Perry, his six points are a career high and very exciting for the people of Kentucky. Perry still has a long way to go, but you can see improvement. He provides minutes that aren’t entirely negative like before.

On the other hand, Oweh’s evening was somewhat disappointing. For starters, he was able to continue his 17-game double-digit scoring streak, but it was about to be broken! He is the Cats’ top scorer, and his performance hasn’t been stellar.

Regardless, the Cats won, but it’s funny how two stat lines that are so similar can mean differently to one guy versus another.

Another big victory for the Cats!