Kentucky Avoids Texas A&M's Upset Bid in Narrow College Basketball Victory

Texas A&M took advantage of home court to create a compelling upset bid against top-ranked Kentucky, but the Wildcats prevailed 70-64 in double overtime on Saturday at Reed Arena.

The Associated Press (via ESPN) had John Calipari's thoughts on the win:

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"We're not a very good team right now," Calipari said.

But surprisingly, that's OK with the veteran coach.

"I don't want us to be great right now anyway," he said. "We need to be great at the end of February and March ... you win and you learn. It's winning and learning and that's all we're trying to do."

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Devin Booker came off the bench to lead Kentucky with 18 points, as the visitors had to overcome a 25-point effort from Aggies standout guard Danuel House.

This marked the second straight contest in which the Wildcats were forced to extra time, as they defeated Ole Miss at home in their previous game in one overtime. CBS Sports' Seth Davis hinted at that in his critique of Kentucky:

Poor free-throw shooting contributed to a low-scoring affair in regulation. The Wildcats improved as the game went on to finish 25-of-35, but Texas A&M made just 16 of 30 attempts.

That has clearly been Kentucky's kryptonite in an otherwise stupendous 2014-15 season. However, the Wildcats also could not execute in the half court, often miffed by the host's zone defense. Those factors cost the visitors a chance to stave off the Aggies at College Station in regulation.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman lauded Texas A&M's effort, as it was without Jalen Jones, who's averaging 13.3 points per contest:

Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison, who made clutch shots throughout last year's NCAA tournament, missed a three-pointer as regulation expired that would have broken a 53-53 tie.

Harrison had 12 points on just 4-of-20 shooting and missed 11 of 13 threes, as Kentucky shot a meager 28.1 percent as a team.

When Harrison fouled out in the second OT period, Jeff Borzello of ESPN highlighted how the Wildcats were still in better shape than a lot of their opponents would be absent so many regular contributors:

Each team managed just four points in the first overtime. Wildcats freshman Trey Lyles had the two biggest ones, though, draining two shots from the charity stripe to knot things at 57.

Even TexAgs.com had to give it up for Lyles:

Not long after Harrison left with five fouls, first-year point guard Tyler Ulis picked a great time to notch his first points of the afternoon, drilling a three-pointer off a pick-and-pop pass from Lyles to put Kentucky ahead 66-63.

The reigning national runners-up never trailed after that in improving to a perfect 15-0 on the season.

This epic thriller's tight score just goes to show how Kentucky isn't safe on any given day no matter the amazing talent coach John Calipari has assembled.

ESPN's Dana O'Neil made an astute observation amid Saturday's gritty showdown:

It will be interesting to see how the Wildcats recover after facing so much adversity as of late. Perhaps the reality of these recent close calls will galvanize Kentucky as it travels back to Lexington to face Missouri on Tuesday.

Next up for the Aggies are the Mississippi State Bulldogs, whose anemic offense will have trouble scoring if Texas A&M's exceptional outing versus Kentucky is any indication.