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The Kentucky Wildcats dropped in the NET Rankings after the Texas A&M loss
© Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The Kentucky Wildcats were 2-0 in SEC play heading into the road matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies but picked up their first loss of conference play in overtime 97-92. The Cats were able to score like they do in almost every game, but the defensive struggles finally cost this team. 

We have talked time and time again about how this team has to be better on defense if they want to make a deep run in March. The Cats are struggling to defend one on one, which is why Tyrece Radford was able to get to the rim and score with ease. On some of Radford's drives, he was helped with screens, but on others, he just beat his man. 

If the defense doesn't get better soon, you could see the losses in conference play continue to stack up, especially on the road in a tough environment. 

The NET Rankings have been updated after Kentucky's loss to Texas A&M, and they dropped but only one spot from 17th to 18th. 

Let's take a look at Kentucky's record broken up into Quad's. 

Quad 1: 2-2

Quad 2: 1-0

Quad 3: 4-1

Quad 4: 5-0

This loss to Texas A&M was a Quad 1 loss, which means it won't hurt the Cats a ton when it comes to seeding, but you really need to start stacking some Quad 1 wins. 

With the SEC having a good season as a whole, Kentucky will have a bunch of opportunities to pick up Quad 1 wins, so this isn't the end of the world, but you have to start winning these games in tough environments.

This article first appeared on FanNation Wildcats Today and was syndicated with permission.

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