Kentucky, Texas A&M meet with NCAA bubble stakes rising

Kentucky and Texas A&M will be looking to boost their résumés when they meet Tuesday in College Station, Texas, in the penultimate game of the Southeastern Conference regular season.

The Wildcats (19-10, 10-6 SEC) are already in strong NCAA Tournament position, tied for fourth in the SEC with Tennessee and Missouri. Texas A&M (19-10, 9-7) sits in a tie for seventh with Vanderbilt and Texas.

Kentucky, ranked No. 27 in the national NET rankings, still has a shot at a double bye in the SEC Tournament. Tuesday’s winner will also earn a valuable head-to-head tiebreaker, which could impact tournament seeding.

The Wildcats come into the matchup on a two-game winning streak, including a 91-77 home victory over then-No. 25 Vanderbilt on Saturday. Collin Chandler scored a career-high 23 points, including six 3-pointers, while Otega Oweh also had 23 points. Denzel Aberdeen added 15 and Malachi Moreno contributed 11. Kentucky shot 58.8% from the floor and 11 of 22 from beyond the arc.

"It's fun to make shots — it makes life easier," Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. "What are we, probably the second-best 3-point shooting team in the conference right now? We make shots. That's the way this team was put together, and it's what we do."

Texas A&M dropped a 76-70 home game to rival Texas on Saturday, missing a chance to climb in the standings. Rashaun Agee led the Aggies with 22 points, Marcus Hill scored 17, and Pop Issacs added 14. The team went over five minutes without a field goal in the final stretch and finished with a 38.3% shooting night.

"We played better in that game with a lot of fight than in games we've won," Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said. "There's great fight. Great tenacity. Great no-quit attitude, but we've got to get to the next game. We know what time it is. We've got to be guns blazing on Tuesday."

After starting SEC play 7-1, the Aggies have struggled, dropping six of their last eight games and falling from No. 35 to 43 in the NET rankings.

-Field Level Media/Reuters