Texas A&M vs Kentucky Odds & Picks: Take Wildcats At Rupp Arena

Who’s the hottest team in the SEC? When it comes to performance against the spread, the answer may well be Texas A&M, which has covered seven of its last eight—with six of those contests coming against major-conference opposition. Now the 11th-ranked Aggies find out if that run of ATS success can continue in Rupp Arena, where homestanding Kentucky is a 6.5-point favorite on Tuesday night.

Texas A&M (13-3 outright) had covered in seven straight games before losing by six as a 3.5-point home underdog to Alabama this past Saturday night. No. 8 Kentucky (13-3) has covered in three of its last four, a stretch that includes a six-point victory over 3.5-point underdog Florida in Lexington, and a five-point win as a 5-point underdog against Mississippi State this past Saturday night in Starkville.

Texas A&M vs Kentucky Odds Today

Odds as of January 14 at Sportsbook

Texas A&M vs Kentucky Picks Today

Kentucky -6.5 (-110) & OVER 157.5 (-110) at Sportsbook

In the era of the transfer portal, Texas A&M is a bit of a throwback—a savvy, veteran team with a lot of players who have been around College Station for a long time. Perhaps that’s why they recovered so well from the biggest shocker of opening night when the Aggies lost at Central Florida as 6.5-point favorites. Since then they’ve lost only to Oregon and Alabama, and beaten eight power-conference opponents along the way.

Kentucky has quickly meshed together a roster of all new players under first-year coach Mark Pope, who brought in an array of standout transfers from San Diego State, West Virginia, BYU, Dayton, and Drexel. Sometimes the growing pains have shown—as in losses to Clemson, Georgia, and Ohio State. At other times, it’s looked seamless, like during a November victory over Duke, a 106-point effort against Florida, and in the 16 3-pointers the Wildcats hit Saturday at Mississippi State. 

The Aggies have a standout guard in Wade Taylor IV, who averaged 19 points a game last season—but he’s missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury. Taylor’s absence puts a dent in Texas A&M’s ability to match buckets with the higher-scoring teams in the SEC, a fact that was on display Saturday against Alabama and is likely to repeat itself in Rupp Arena against the Wildcats on Tuesday night.

Despite having the third-highest scoring average in America (89.2 ppg), the Wildcats have been inconsistent against the total—they’ve gone OVER in two of their last three, but went UNDER in six of seven before that. Drill down to how they’ve done against the better teams on their schedule, though, and a trend appears—OVER against Mississippi State, against Florida, against Gonzaga. While an UNDER against Duke is a notable exception, that was very early in the season. We’ll go with the OVER Tuesday, particularly given that Texas A&M has eclipsed the total in three of its last four.

Texas A&M vs Kentucky News

Taylor’s status remains unclear for the Kentucky game. While Texas A&M has not specified the injury nagging the senior guard, a local Fox TV affiliate reported it as “knee tightness,” according to Sports Illustrated. Following the Alabama game, Aggies coach Buzz Williams did not answer whether there was a timetable for Taylor’s return. Kentucky starting forward Andrew Carr returned from a back issue to play against Mississippi State.

Texas A&M vs Kentucky Prop Bet Today

Kentucky OVER 85.5 (+120) at Sportsbook

The few duds Kentucky has laid this season have come away from home—like its 69-point effort last week at Georgia, and a 66-point performance at Clemson. But in Rupp Arena? The Wildcats have put up 106, 88, and 93 in their last three games in Lexington, where they’re averaging 96.5 points and have cracked the century mark five times. At home, take the ’Cats and the OVER. 

Texas A&M vs Kentucky Betting Trends