It’s 3-1 for the Kentucky Wildcats! After their recent win against Mississippi State, Kentucky’s roster was expected to be as dominant as ever. But all those expectations hit a wall in the first five minutes. The Aggies went on a 12-0 run, while the Wildcats were stuck in a scoring drought. But, after those first few minutes, Kentucky turned things around.

Not only did they overcome the deficit, but they never looked back. Texas A&M, unfortunately, was without their star player Wade Taylor IV, who was out due to injury. In his absence, the Aggies leaned on Zhuric Phelps and Pharrel Payne for the offense. But they just couldn’t find an answer to Kentucky’s relentless defense and rebounding dominance.

Despite Phelps contributing 21 points, shooting 8-for-19 from the field, the loss of Taylor IV was painfully obvious. The Aggies couldn’t close the gap after falling behind early in the second half. Kentucky surged, powering to an 81-69 victory over the No. 11 Aggies at Rupp Arena. But this wasn’t just another win.

It marked a huge achievement for the Wildcats. Even Texas A&M’s head coach, Buzz Williams, couldn’t help but praise their roster. “Kentucky is good enough to win it all (National championship),” he said. And he’s spot on. This victory adds another notch to Kentucky’s impressive streak of wins against AP Top 25’s top-15 opponents—fastest ever in a season.

Kentucky is really stepping up both offensively and defensively. They shot 24 of 52 from the field against Texas A&M, while A&M hit 23 of 59. With the win, Kentucky is 14-3 overall and 3-1 in SEC play. But the focus isn’t just on their offense—defense has been key.

Mark Pope, the head coach, has been particularly focused on their defensive growth. He’s noticed how much they’ve bounced back since their loss to Georgia. In that game, they forced 15 turnovers from Georgia but didn’t make the most of them, scoring only 10 points off those mistakes. However, in their win over Texas A&M, they were much more effective, capitalizing on the Aggies’ 12 turnovers to rack up 18 points.

Pope even acknowledged this a few weeks ago. “I think there was probably some points during the last week,.. there was anything involved in the game of basketball except for ball screen defense.” he shared after a loss to Ohio State.

Kentucky’s shooting also bounced back against A&M, improving from 8% to 33.3% from three-point range. It’s a big improvement, but one game doesn’t make a championship contender. Consistency is what’s needed moving forward. Despite the win, the spotlight wasn’t entirely on the Kentucky Wildcats.

Despite facing adversities, Andrew Carr stood up for coach Mark Pope

It was shared by Andrew Carr. His 13 points might not have been the game-high, but they were enough to earn him praise. He’s been facing a tough back injury that even kept him from practicing earlier this week. There were doubts about whether he would even play. But after warmups, Carr showed up, determined to help his team against a ranked opponent.

And help he did. “He’s a tough kid. He’s a warrior. He loves our team,” said head coach Mark Pope.

Carr played 25 minutes this time, up from 21 in the last game. Now, here he is, standing tall as Kentucky stands at 14-3. They’re ranked eighth with a two-game winning streak. But the battle is far from over. The Wildcats are lined up to face some of their toughest opponents ahead, including No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Tennessee in the SEC.

But Coach Williams’ statement—“I think how he (Mark Pope) leads is the appropriate way in 2025”—might just be what gets the Cats over the edge. Is that all, though? What really sets Pope and his boys apart? Buzz has the answer to that, as well.

“I think the utilization of the talent and the skill considering the newness of the coach and his staff and the players. That’s really difficult to do,” the Aggies HC said of Kentucky’s offense. Perhaps the other teams can take a few pointers from Coach Pope?

Well, what do you think? Is Texas A&M’s coach right? Could Kentucky really go all the way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.