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Texas A&M vs. Kentucky Prediction, Odds and Key Players for SEC Tournament Quarterfinal (How to Bet on Wildcats)

By Reed Wallach

Mar 9, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats bench reacts to a three pointer
Mar 9, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats bench reacts to a three pointer / Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
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Texas A&M takes on Kentucky for the second time this season after the two played an incredibly entertaining first matchup in College Station that the Aggies won in overtime.

How will the two follow up its high scoring affair as the Wildcats have continued to round into Final Four contender form while Texas A&M has tried to stay in the NCAA Tournament mix. How should we bet this must win game for the Aggies?

Here's how I see it:

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Texas A&M vs. Kentucky Odds, Spread and Total

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M Betting Trends

  • Kentucky is 18-13 against the spread (ATS) this season
  • Texas A&M is 5-4 ATS as an underdog
  • Texas A&M has gone OVER in 19 of 32 games this season
  • Kentucky has gone OVER in 22 of 31 games this season

Kentucky vs. Texas A&M How to Watch

  • Date: Friday, march 15th
  • Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
  • Venue: Bridgestone Arena
  • How to Watch (TV): SEC Network
  • Kentucky Record: 19-13
  • Texas A&M Record: 23-8

Texas A&M vs. Kentucky Key Players to Watch

Texas A&M

Wade Taylor IV: Taylor scored 20 points in the Aggies' fourth straight win against Ole Miss on Thursday, keeping the team's NCAA Tournament hopes alive. He crushed Kentucky in the team's lone meeting this season, scoring 31 points despite making only one of 11 two-point field goals. His knack for getting to the free throw line is massive and helps Texas A&M dictate the game.

Kentucky

Reed Sheppard: The lottery prospect will be tasked with staying in front of Taylor but also keeping this humming Kentucky offense on track against a stingy Texas A&M that runs a compact zone defense. Sheppard is shooting north of 50% from beyond the arc and is a high-level passer, can he best Taylor and the Aggies.

Texas A&M vs. Kentucky Prediction and Pick

The first and only meeting between these two teams featured a ton of points, mainly due to the physicality with which each team played. Both teams took more than 20 free throws and took more than 30 three-point shots.

I'm not going to trust Texas A&M's offense which ranks bottom 20 in effective field goal percentage to push the game over the full total, but I will focus on the Kentucky offense that has been playing at an incredibly high level of late.

Kentucky has scored 85 or more in five straight games and now will get a chance to shoot over the Aggies' zone defense that allows the highest three-point rate in SEC play. While the team contests shots well, Kentucky's ability to have four guys on the floor at times who can shoot it from deep will open up shooting pockets all over the floor.

Yes, Texas A&M plays at a slow tempo, but the sheer efficiency of Kentucky is going to play a role. Given that the team is the favorite and may need to salt this game away at the free throw line, I can trust the Wildcats to keep the production up, 22nd in the country in free throw percentage.

I'll take the UK team total over as my favorite bet in this quarterfinals matchup.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Track Reed's bets here!

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