Texas just humbled the defending champs and now has a chance to win the SEC and earn a No. 1 seed in March. Up next: surging Kentucky, fresh off its highest AP poll ranking in nine seasons. The Wildcats are 1.5 games behind the Longhorns (as well as LSU and South Carolina) for the conference lead. Thursday is set up to be meaningful and intense.
How to watch No. 3 Texas at No. 8 Kentucky
These programs only have two prior meetings, and both were at neutral sites. Conference realignment makes this a year of firsts for Texas. The W over South Carolina was a swaggering introduction to the rest of the league. They won at Moody without making a single 3-pointer, winning on the boards and creating turnovers. They’ll go for a nine-game winning streak in Lexington.
Sophomore Madison Booker and sixth-year Taylor Jones have earned recent SEC Player of the Week honors. They make for a skilled and sturdy frontcourt. As evidenced by their game plan against the Gamecocks, these Longhorns don’t care much about getting the long ball off. In stark contrast stand Kenny Brooks and Kentucky (Kenn-tucky Brooks?). Against conference opponents, the Cats are first in the Southeast in made 3s at a clean 38 percent clip. Australian senior Georgia Amoore, another recent conference player of the week,…
