Aggies take out Wildcats in OT

1) The Aggies have stopped the bleeding. A&M may not be playing as well as they were when they roared out to a 17-2 start, but they're starting to regain that form. Kentucky may have started the season slowly, but they've been on fire of late and have as much talent as any team in the nation. This was a tough game, but the Aggies never let Kentucky get more than a two-possession lead and matched every run with one of their own. They played tough, dominated the boards and kept turnovers to a minimum. That's what they need to do to succeed.

2) Tyler Davis is a man. The true freshman put up a big double-double tonight, with 15 points, 12 rebounds (9 offensive) and, of course, the game-winning shot. Kentucky threw a lot of different guys at Davis, but he was able to hold his own and completely dominated the boards. He played steady, powerful basketball tonight and was more than a match for Kentucky's big men. Like his team, he's struggled of late, but if he gets rolling, the Aggies become very difficult to stop thanks to his role in a solid inside-out game.

3) That's the Chicago Way. At halftime, CBS' Seth Davis sent out a tweet that made fans of The Untouchables grin. "Texas A&M has 15 offensive rebounds. That's how you get Capone." As it turned out, the Aggies would end up with 20 offensive boards to Kentucky's 6, and outrebounded the Wildcats 41-36. Not only did Davis have more offensive boards alone than the entire Kentucky team, but Tonny Trocha-Morelos threw in 4 more, which also topped anyone on the Wildcats. Beating a hot, talented team like Kentucky requires limiting possessions, and owning the offensive glass certainly did that.

4) Hail to the seniors. In order for the Aggies to win tonight -- and moving forward into March -- they had to get something from everyone. The seniors didn't disappoint tonight. Alex Collins was only 1-7 from the floor, but he had 8 assists and no turnovers while playing better defense than he gets credit for. Alex Caruso had 10 points, a big three in the second half and had John Calipari scrapping his game plan four minutes into the game because of his defensive presence. Danuel House was only 2-13 from the field, but he hit the four biggest free throws of the game in overtime.

5) Jalen Jones saves the day. The Aggies were ice cold and tentative offensively early in the game. Everyone, that is, except for Jones, who came out firing from Hearne and scored A&M's first 9 points on three 3-point baskets. He was able to keep the Aggies within a couple of points until his teammates calmed down and got over their nerves. With his improved shooting from deep, Jones has become a matchup nightmare because he can shoot from the parking lot or put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket. It's up to his opponent to decide which he's going to give up.

6) The free throw shooting has to get better. If A&M is going to beat bigtime opponents in March, 14-24 from the line isn't going to hack it. As good as Kentucky is, if the Aggies hit 70% of their free throws, they win this thing going away. A&M's big scorers all struggled tonight, except House (4-4). Davis was 5-10 from the stripe and Jones was 2-5. They're both better free throw shooters than that and they'll have to do better come tourney time.

7) Could tonight be the emergence of a new weapon? Obviously, Jones is option 1 for the Aggies and House can fill up the stat sheet when he's on. Davis is becoming an inside force. But one of the guys who kept A&M close (and, at least once put them in the lead) in the first half was DJ Hogg. Hogg came off the bench and hit a pair of 3s in succession and ended up with 10 points. If he can consistently find his shot from deep, he adds a big weapon to A&M's second unit.

8) This game should serve as a confidence boost and sets the Aggies up nicely. Kentucky may be only ranked 14th, but they were white hot coming into this one -- they had won their last four by 19, 34, 17 and 10 points, respectively. Jamal Murray had been shooting the lights out. They came in confident and expecting to win this game, but the Aggies stood their ground and wore them out. Murray, largely thanks to Caruso, ended up 6-16. They never had a lead of more than 3 points and two of their players fouled out. A&M may not be the team that gets all the national hype, but they proved they can beat any team in the SEC tonight.

Going down the stretch the Aggies have a real shot at winning the SEC regular season title. Kentucky has to play at Vandy, at Florida and finishes with LSU. The Aggies have Mississippi State, Missouri at Columbia, at Auburn and Vandy at home. The Bulldogs and two Tigers are at the bottom of the league. If A&M doesn't win the regular season, they're still in position for a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament, which means a double bye and a real shot at taking that title.

Tonight's win reminds the Aggies that yes, they are the team that beat Iowa State and ripped Texas, Baylor and K-State. They can be that team again this year. And, if they continue on this upward swing, they can be very dangerous in a few weeks' time.