John Calipari, Bruiser Flint not worried Kentucky will overlook Texas A&M

Before Kentucky travels to No. 2 Auburn, they have to take care of business vs. the other team in front of them in the SEC standings: Texas A&M. The Aggies are 15-2 this season, a perfect 4-0 in SEC play. They boast a win over Notre Dame, who beat Kentucky last month, and Arkansas, who just beat LSU in Baton Rouge. Even though it may be easy for our eyes to drift forward to Saturday, neither John Calipari nor Bruiser Flint are worried about the Cats overlooking tomorrow night’s game in College Station.

“They’re good,” Calipari said of Buzz Williams’ squad on his radio show last night. “I’m surprised they’re not ranked.”

Texas A&M did receive votes in both polls this week, which would slot them at No. 35 in the AP Poll and No. 32 in the Coaches Poll. Only the Aggies and Auburn are undefeated in conference play thus far.

“You don’t have a trap game when the team you’re playing is 5-0 and in the first place in the league,” Bruiser Flint said this morning on Zoom. “I don’t call that a trap game. You better come ready to play or you’re going to lose because they’ve beaten everybody in the conference. So I don’t even look at it, we don’t even talk about it being a trap game and we’re not worrying about our next game after this, Auburn.”

The Aggies are riding an eight-game winning streak and are off to their best start since the 2015-16 season. They lead the league in three-point shooting at 37.4% and are second in scoring defense, holding opponents to 62.9 points per game. Williams revamped his roster via the transfer portal. Four of the Aggies’ starters came from other schools: Henry Coleman III from Duke, Tyrece Radford from Virginia Tech, Marcus Williams from Wyoming, and Ethan Henderson from Arkansas. Coleman has been particularly efficient in SEC play, averaging a team-best 18.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.

“They lead the league in threes,” Calipari said of the Aggies. “They make nine a game. You’ve got to guard them but not at the expense of them shooting layups or dunks. So you’ve got to kind of guard both. They play fast and when they play fast they get threes off. They’re a dangerous team. They’re a team that can play fast and they run some good stuff.”

“They are a really downhill driving team,” Cal added. “They get to the foul line, they scramble up the defense, they collapse. They’re not going to space the court. Like, why? They collapse. They’ll trap the post. They’re going to come at us. They press in a 1-2-2. Look, they’re a really good team and they’re really good at home.”

T-Shirt Night at Reed Arena

Cal’s right. Texas A&M is a perfect 10-0 in Reed Arena this season. Their last two home wins vs. ranked opponents have come against, you guessed it, Kentucky. In February 2018, the Aggies knocked off No. 24 Kentucky 85-74. Two years earlier, they beat No. 14 Kentucky 79-77 in overtime, the infamous Isaac Humphries ball-slamming game. Tomorrow night’s game isn’t sold out yet, but only limited tickets remain in the upper arena. Not surprisingly, free “Rock Reed” t-shirts will be handed out to each fan in attendance.

“We better handle our business,” Bruiser Flint said. “This team’s in first place in the SEC. You better be ready. You know you’re going to a place where they have — they’re first place in your league. If you think that’s a trap game then you’re crazy. We never — we don’t approach it that way. We have never talked about it. A&M is playing well right now and we better be ready.”

One thing that could help Kentucky keep its poise on the road is experience. Four of Kentucky’s five starters boast multiple years of college experience. Most of the reserves do as well. Last night, Calipari raved about having older guys on his squad, a contrast to most years.

“It’s a fun team, and I’ll tell you what else. Part of it is, I’ve got a veteran team. I’ve got older guys who are on time, that don’t pout. Seventeen-year-olds pout. When you have veteran players like we have, it’s a little different. I haven’t done this with veterans in a while. I did it at Memphis, I did it at UMass. But I haven’t done it in a while.”

When it comes to tomorrow night, Calipari and the coaching staff have made it clear: one game at a time.

“The other stuff about [overlooking] the next game, I’m just telling you, if they know it’s important to me, it’ll be important to them,” Cal said. “Right now, what’s important is, let’s stay focused and be who we are today.”