Tag: kentucky wildcats basketball

‘I didn’t kick my leg out purposefully’: Tyrece Radford comments on contentious offensive foul call

With less than a minute left in overtime during Texas A&M’s 97-92 upset victory versus Kentucky on Saturday at Reed Arena, a contentious offensive foul call nearly changed the outcome of the game.

With less than a minute left in overtime during Texas A&M‘s 97-92 upset victory versus No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday at Reed Arena, a contentious offensive foul call nearly changed the outcome of the game.

Graduate student guard Tyrece Radford nailed a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 97-89 lead over the Wildcats with 48.2 seconds remaining. However, the referees called Radford for an offensive foul, which negated the made basket and enraged many in Aggieland.

After the game, Radford gave his perspective on the controversial call.

“I was on the ground and looked at the ref who called it. I didn’t kick my leg out purposefully. I just needed to move on to the next play. I thought it was the and-1 at first,” Radford recalled. “Coming into the game, they were telling me to hoop and be myself. We tell each other to keep shooting. One thing that carries over is our defense. We continue to play and continue to hoop.”

Radford finished the game with a season-high 28 points on 11-of-22 field goal attempts. His teammate, junior G Wade Taylor IV, racked up a game-high 31 points.

After the win, head coach Buzz Williams shared his thoughts on his backcourt dynamic duo.

“Whether they make or miss a bunch of shots, I love them,” Williams said. “I’m never going to betray my relationship with those players or with their families. I want them to make shots. Today we made shots and that gave us a chance. I’ve never won against Kentucky. I’m hopeful that we can continue on this path we’ve built. Our players and staff are all overachievers. We have a bus full of people who have worked incredibly hard to have this chance.”

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

WATCH: Texas A&M guard Manny Obaseki’s rim-rattling dunk featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays

Standing at a towering 7-feet tall, Kentucky sophomore forward Ugonna Onyenso isn’t often challenged in the paint but Texas A&M junior guard Manny Obaseki simply did not care.

Standing at a towering 7-feet tall, Kentucky sophomore forward Ugonna Onyenso isn’t often challenged in the paint but Texas A&M junior guard Manny Obaseki simply did not care.

Leading 23-18 with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half Saturday at Reed Arena against the Wildcats, Obaseki crossed over, drove into the paint and went up for a rim-rattling dunk. The only problem was, that Onyenso was in his way.

That ultimately didn’t matter as Obaseki skied over the sophomore and slammed the dunk on his head. As the great play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Harlan once said, Obaseki threw down the dunk “with no regard for human life!”

As noted by the Texas A&M men’s basketball account on X, it wasn’t a matter of if but where the junior high flyer’s throwdown would be featured in ESPN‘s Top 10 plays. On Saturday night, Obaseki earned the No. 6 spot in SportsCenter’s daily segment.

The Aggies pulled off the upset 97-92 in overtime to earn their first SEC victory of the season. With plays like Obaseki displayed this weekend, many more wins are on the way to College Station soon.

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WATCH: Football head coach Mike Elko introduced during Texas A&M’s upset win against No. 6 Kentucky

Some would call it a lucky coincidence that the new Texas A&M football head coach was in the building this past weekend at Reed Arena to watch the Aggies men’s basketball team upset No. 6 Kentucky. Others would simply call it the Elko Effect.

Some would call it a lucky coincidence that the new Texas A&M football head coach was in the building this past weekend at Reed Arena to watch the Aggies men’s basketball team upset No. 6 Kentucky. Others would simply call it the Elko Effect.

During the first half of Saturday afternoon’s 97-92 overtime victory versus the Wildcats on ESPN, Mike Elko was introduced to the crowd of Aggies fans and he received a loud ovation.

Texas A&M came into the game against Kentucky on a bit of a slump, losing its first two games in SEC play. However, the energy that Elko brought into the arena must’ve been a difference-maker as the Aggies led 46-45 at halftime.

The days of Jimbo Fisher in Bryan-College Station are long gone as the Elko era is well underway. Going into Saturday’s game, men’s basketball head coach Buzz Williams said the Wildcats are “a hallucinogen” when it comes to their play in transition.

Elko’s presence appears to have been the remedy for the Wildcats and perhaps Williams will be extending an invite to his colleague more often in the future following the big win this weekend.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

‘We tell each other to keep shooting. One thing that carries over is our defense’ Tyrece Radford, Wade Taylor IV speak after Texas A&M’s 97-92 win over No. 6 Kentucky

Hear what Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford had to say after the Aggies’ thrilling 97-92 win over No. 6 Kentucky.

Texas A&M Basketball came into Saturday’s game against the No. 6-ranked Kentucky Wildcats as focused as they have been as a cohesive unit all season long, taking full advantage of a packed Reed Arena after dropping their first two SEC games in 2024.

Led by guard duo Wade Taylor IV (31 points) and Tyrece Radford’s (28 points) tremendous bounce-back performances, the proven leaders combined for 59 points and nine of the Aggies’ 12 makes from beyond the arc, helping to defeat the blue-blood visitors 97-92 in one of the more exciting matchups this season.

In desperate need of a win in conference play, A&M also earned what should be its fourth Quad 1 victory on the year, so despite the poor play since the start of the year, the Aggies have continued to pad their NCAA Tournament resume, but there is a lot of work yet to be done.

Focusing on Radford and Taylor, whose incredible resurgence after combining for just 22 points in last Tuesday’s road loss to Auburn, providing that the lackadaisical start to SEC play was just a short phase that has now taken its course. After the game, Wade Taylor IV noted the importance of taking on every SEC game going forward with the same energy and, hopefully, the same offensive efficiency.

“We should look at every game as an opportunity. This was the right step in the direction tonight. Tonight we showed how resilient we are.”

Here is everything Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV had to say after Texas A&M’s thrilling win over No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

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‘I’ve never won against Kentucky. I’m hopeful that we can continue on this path we’ve built’ Buzz Williams speaks after Texas A&M’s 97-92 win over No. 6 Kentucky

Hear what Texas A&M Basketball head coach Buzz Williams had to say after the Aggies thrilling 97-92 win over No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday.

Texas A&M Basketball came into Saturday’s game against the No. 6-ranked Kentucky Wildcats as focused as they have been as a cohesive unit all season long, taking full advantage of a packed Reed Arena after dropping their first two SEC games in 2024.

Led by guard duo Wade Taylor IV (31 points) and Tyrece Radford’s (28 points) tremendous bounce-back performances, the proven leaders combined for 59 points and nine of the Aggies’ 12 makes from beyond the arc, helping to defeat the blue-blood visitors 97-92 in one of the more exciting matchups this season.

In desperate need of a win in conference play, A&M also earned what should be its fourth Quad 1 victory on the year, so despite the poor play since the start of the year, the Aggies have continued to pad their NCAA Tournament resume, but there is a lot of work yet to be done.

After the game, head coach Buzz Williams deserves a ton of credit for getting his team back to playing with an identity and finally shooting much better from the field (40.2%); Williams continued to focus on his love and admiration for the young men on the roster, precisely the incredible effort from Taylor and Radford.

“Whether they make or miss a bunch of shots, I love them (Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford). I’m never going to betray my relationship with those players or with their families. I want them to make shots. Today we made shots and that gave us a chance.”

Defensively, the Aggies dominated on the boards, securing a 54-46 rebound advantage, including 25 offensive rebounds, which was the key to ensuring the win in the final minutes.

Speaking with the media after the game, Williams will now shift his focus on taking on Arkansas next Tuesday night in Fayetteville. Here is everything he had to say after Saturday’s massive victory.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Twitter reaction to Keshad Johnson picking Arizona over Kentucky and USC

Keshad Johnson not picking USC? Not a big deal. Keshad Johnson going to Arizona and becoming a USC foe? That’s a big deal.

Keshad Johnson chose Arizona as his transfer destination on Saturday.

We wrote this about the big development in the Pac-12 college basketball transfer portal:

“Let’s be very clear here: USC was not going to get Keshad Johnson once D.J. Rodman came into the program. Johnson would not have been able to get extended playing time with Rodman right there. Andy Enfield landed Rodman and got the floor-stretching forward he needed. He did really well.

“The problem for USC is simply that Johnson landed on the Trojans’ foremost competitor for the 2024 Pac-12 title. That is the bad news here.”

Let’s get a glimpse of the national reaction to this important transfer portal development:

Kansas State joins Texas to represent Big 12 in the Sweet 16

Jerome Tang scoffed at Kentucky’s “tradition,” after K-State joined Texas in the Sweet 16.

Kansas State followed Texas to the Sweet 16 on Sunday with a win over the Kentucky Wildcats, 75-69. K-State head coach Jerome Tang had interesting comments about Kentucky after the huge win.

Tang said the following about his team’s win over Kentucky.

Well you know, we have a program that’s rich in tradition also. You know, all those old dudes that played for Kentucky, they ain’t coming back. Tradition does not help you if you don’t go out there and play with some dudes. And we had more dudes than they did today.

Few college basketball fans, if any, consider Kansas State anywhere near a blue blood program. Even so, the point Tang makes resonates with fans of underachieving programs. You’re only as good as your current team and coach. Kentucky coach John Calipari might be the better recruiter, but it’s evident Tang is the better talent optimizer.

Texas and Kansas State still stand as potential Final Four representatives for the Big 12 Conference.

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Twitter reacts: Georgia basketball upsets Kentucky

Georgia basketball Twitter was hyped up following the Bulldogs’ big win over Kentucky

The Georgia Bulldogs knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats in a 75-68 win in Athens. Georgia improves to 15-10 overall and 5-7 in SEC play.

Head coach Mike White and Georgia basketball snapped a three game losing streak. The Bulldogs had lost six of seven entering Saturday’s game against Kentucky.

The road defeat is a tough loss for head coach John Calipari and Kentucky. The Wildcats fall to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in the SEC. Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament odds took a serious hit. The Wildcats were on the bubble entering Saturday. However, there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played.

Georgia’s Justin Hill came up with some big plays down the stretch for the Dawgs. Hill finished with 15 points and six assists. Kario Oquendo scored 21 points to lead Georgia. Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe had 20 points, 14 boards, and four blocks in the Wildcats’ defeat. Additionally, Georgia’s Terry Roberts returned from injury.

Georgia basketball Twitter was hyped up following the Bulldogs’ big win:

Texas Basketball: The case for hiring Kentucky HC John Calipari

John Calipari has four top ten commits and the No. 1 recruiting class in college basketball.

The Texas Longhorns have been mentioned as a team that could poach Kentucky head coach John Calipari. The Wildcats’ coach has struggled in recent years but is worth considering for Texas.

For starters, recruits are buying into his resume and track record of producing NBA players. The veteran coach has produced players like Marcus Camby, Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis, John Wall and many others.

Presently, Kentucky has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation with four Top 10 recruits. That list includes the No. 1 and No. 2 overall players in the 2023 basketball recruiting class.

Given the experience Texas loses next season, Calipari would presumably hit the ground running on the recruiting trail to replace the Longhorns’ NBA departures. If the Longhorns were able to win over his 2023 class and retain No. 10 player Ron Holland and and No. 15 player AJ Johnson, their talent advantage overwhelm right away.

Here’s a look at who Calipari has committed to Kentucky.

Why John Calipari would be a risky hire for Texas basketball

There would be risk in hiring Kentucky coach John Calipari.

Kentucky’s John Calipari is one of the most accomplished coaches in college basketball. He will finish his career as one of the best at his craft. Despite his strong resume, his success isn’t certain at Texas.

For starters, that he would leave Kentucky after being given a lifetime contract speaks to the current state of his program. The Wildcats are 10-6 this season and 1-3 in conference play, with a contingent of fans hoping for a new head coach.

The last two seasons weren’t much better for Coach Cal. Last March, his team lost its first NCAA Tournament game to No. 15 seed St. Peter’s. The year before, the Wildcats missed the tournament after going 9-16.

Adding Calipari could lead to a surge in recruiting for Texas. Even so, it’s uncertain how his style of coaching would go over on the Forty Acres.

Texas may still try to poach the national championship winning head coach. We will continue to monitor the coaching search moving forward.

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