LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Malik Monk scored 26 points, De’Aaron Fox had 15 and No. 6 Kentucky rode an early 15-0 run to cruise past Texas A&M 100-58 on Tuesday night.
Playing at home for the first time in nearly a month, the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) quickly answered the Aggies’ game-opening 3-pointer with that surge over 2:39 to take control. Kentucky continued pouring it on for its most lopsided victory in a recently tight series with overtime deciding four of the last five.
Monk continued his high-scoring ways by making 8 of 11 shots including five 3-pointers to pace Kentucky, which shot 52 percent and broke the century mark for the second time in four games. The Wildcats forced 25 turnovers, their second-highest total this season.
Tyler Davis had 13 points for Texas A&M (8-5, 0-2).
Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
#6 Kentucky 100, Texas A&M 58
Jan. 3, 2017 – Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
– Texas A&M fell to 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in SEC play following a 100-58 loss to No. 6 Kentucky at Rupp Arena Tuesday night.
– The all-time series between the schools now stands at 7-3 in favor of UK.
TEAM NOTES
– Kentucky owned a 50-27 lead at the intermission and would go on to put 100 points on the scoreboard … The Wildcats became the first Aggie opponent to reach the century mark since Baylor scored 116 in a five-overtime game on Jan. 23, 2008.
– The Aggies were guilty of 25 turnovers on the night, the most in the Billy Kennedy era at A&M.
– Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Admon Gilder, Chris Collins, DJ Hogg, Tavario and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (0-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
– Sophomores Tyler Davis and Admon Gilder scored 13 points apiece to lead A&M and reach double-digit points for the 30th and 21st times in the collegiate careers, respectively.
– The starting assignment was the first career for RS sophomore Chris Collins, who played a career-high 22 minutes in the contest, contributing five points.
– Freshman Robert Williams blocked four shots, extending his blocked shot streak to 13 games as well as bringing his team-leading total to 33.
– Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy fell to 107-75 in his sixth season at Texas A&M and 318-254 in 19 seasons as head coach.
UP NEXT
– Texas A&M’s road trip continues as the Aggies travel to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks inside Colonial Life Arena … The game is slated to be broadcast on CBS.
Texas A&M Head Coach, Billy Kennedy
Opening statement …
“Obviously, their defensive pressure gave our young guards a lot of problems. I thought (Isaiah) Briscoe again created a lot of pressure for us on offense and then when we did get the ball to Tyler (Davis) they doubled him and the turnovers mounted to where we couldn’t combat them. Malik Monk making shots and then Briscoe – I love him (Briscoe). He’s one of those kids you want to have on your team because he plays on both ends of the floor.”
On how key it was to keep UK out of transition …
“The turnovers – we didn’t even run our -. I would like to give (Kentucky) as much credit as possible, but we weren’t very good. I have to do a better job of preparing our guys to handle any type of pressure. I mean sometimes we just gave them the ball. I don’t want to take away any credit from De’Aaron (Fox) and (Isaiah) Briscoe because they play so hard defensively and are so good on the ball, Malik Monk shoots gaps and you have three guards who are all NBA-level guards and they had a huge advantage tonight.”
On Kentucky compared to other good teams Texas A&M has faced this season …
“We didn’t play anybody with guards like that. I’m not knocking the guys we have, but UCLA lets you run offense and the way they play defense is different than Kentucky. I think our lack of experience at the guard and lack of depth on the perimeter when you go up against pressure teams at this level – we’re going to struggle. Again, I don’t want to take away anything from Kentucky because I thought those kids played really hard. When Malik gets going – I’ve seen it happen since he was a freshman – then it’s hard to stop him.”
On if Kentucky’s speed surprised him …
“No. Nothing really surprised me. I would like to tell you – I thought we would play much better. There was no surprise. Kentucky – they are who they are. You get what you get. Coach Cal knows what he has and they’re coming at you full speed. With a guy like De’Aaron Fox and Isaiah Briscoe, a guy who can score like Malik (Monk) from all three levels – and then you throw in a guy like (Bam) Adebayo – who can match Tyler’s (Davis) physicality – you don’t see that very often. Normally, Tyler has a huge advantage. He didn’t see and angles, and he didn’t have an advantage. Picking up two fouls early in the first half didn’t help.”
On how much harder Isaiah Briscoe is to defend when he is making shots …
“When he is making shots, that’s what we gameplanned to live with. When he’s doing that, they can win it all. I know Coach Cal doesn’t want to hear that, but when he’s a weapon offensively like he was today, I don’t know how you defend it.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics