In a game where points were incredibly tough to come by, Kentucky needed more from its defense to close out the Texas A&M Aggies on Wednesday night. In place of an out-of-sync Keion Brooks Jr., junior forward Jacob Toppin stepped in to play a different role than his frontcourt teammate.
Toppin played nine first-half minutes compared to Brooks’ 11, but a 2-8 shooting start from the latter called for more on the defensive end of the floor. Toppin then played 14 second-half minutes to Brooks’ six, balancing a mix of scoring when the opportunity arose and locking down any and every Aggie in front of him.