Jim Hu of SB Nation's Good Bull Hunting offered a preview of today's SEC championship game as the Texas A&M Aggies get what many teams do not - a third chance at obtaining an elusive win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
In both previous meetings the match up was tight, so it's reasonable to expect the same thing in this conference finals tilt. But in order for this to prove true, it's also reasonable to expect that the bench will play a huge role in getting the Aggies over the hurdle that is the Wildcats:
Against the WildCats, bench play will be important to keep the starters from wearing down ... After yesterday's win, Coach Blair talked about how his bench play reflected the Aggie tradition of the 12th Man. Against USC, Karla Gilbert stepped up when Bone went out. Yesterday it Tori Scott was called on to stop Taber Spani. Maybe today will bring another hero off the bench. Peyton Little is due to break out of her slump. Jordan Jones could jump into the spotlight on either offense or defense.
But expect the Kentucky bench to be just as deep, or possibly deeper, against the A&M:
Kentucky is deep. A'dia Mathies is the nationally known star, but O'Neill can get scary-hot behind the arc. Stallworth can go off in the post, and players like Bria Goss, Kastine Evans, Samarie Walker, and Janae Thompson are all quick and dangerous. Coach Mitchell uses his bench in waves to keep up the 40 minutes of hell style of play.
The gist is this - if you haven't already, it might be time to break out your roster card and look beyond Mathies and Bone before tuning in tonight at 6 p.m. ET
For more on this game as well as perspectives on yesterday's results, check out Good Bull Hunting and A Sea of Blue. For more on the SEC tournament as a whole, check out our SEC tournament storystream.