SEC Basketball: Four Teams Who Can Challenge Calipari, Kentucky for Title

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Jan 2, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Danuel House (23) shoots the ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Reed Arena. The Aggies defeated the Razorbacks 92-69. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Danuel House (23) shoots the ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Reed Arena. The Aggies defeated the Razorbacks 92-69. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M Aggies

Why they’ll win: A 21-12 program in the ’14-15 campaign, many fans thought Billy Kennedy and the Aggies were an NCAA Tournament team last season. However, A&M’s ’16 status quo has many of those same fans saying that they could challenge Kentucky for the SEC title.

After closing out a rugged non-league slate with a 10-2 record (which included wins over three Big 12 programs), the Aggies smoked Arkansas in the SEC opener. The result? A top 20 national ranking.

The turnaround isn’t an accident. Texas A&M averages 19.4 assists per game, so they know how to share the rock. Teamwork is followed by production, as they are second in the conference in field goal percentage, scoring on 48.4% of attempts.

More sec: SEC Football: How the SEC Dominated Bowl Season

Why they won’t: Other than Texas, the Aggies haven’t knocked off a team with much of a wow factor. They’ll need a few more of these kind of victories if they want to unseat blueblood Kentucky from the throne.