Everything you want to know about No. 2 Auburn’s basketball game today against No. 12 Kentucky.
Kentucky leads 33-29 at the half but Auburn takes charge in the first give minutes of the second half to win 80 to 71. There was never a moment when I didn't think Auburn would win this game. This is the biggest game in the 12 yr. history of Auburn Arena. We expect Auburn to be the #! team in the country come Monday.
WHEN AND WHERE
When: Noon today
Where: Auburn Arena
LAST GAME
Auburn won 80-71 at Ole Miss. Georgia lost 73-66 to Vanderbilt.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
TV: CBS
Radio: Auburn Network. Online at https://auburntigers.com/watch/?Live=1646&type=Live
THE COACHES
Bruce Pearl, Auburn: 153-93 in his eighth season at Auburn, 625-238 in his 27th season overall.
John Calipari: 354-96 in his 13th season at Kentucky. 757-234 in his 30th season overall.
AUBURN STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jabari Smith (6-10, 220, Fr.): 15 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.1 apg
Wendell Green Jr. (5-11, 175, So.): 13.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.1 apg
K.D. Johnson (6-0, 204, So.): 12.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
Walker Kessler (7-1, 255, So.): 10.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.3 bpg
Allen Flanigan (6-6, 220, Jr.): 7.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
Jaylin Williams (6-8, 230, Jr.): 7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 apg
Devin Cambridge (6-6, 210, Jr.): 6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Zep Jasper (6-0, 185, Sr.): 5.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.7 apg
KENTUCKY
Oscar Tshiebwe (6-9, 255, Jr.): 16.1 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg
TyTy Washington (6-3, 197, Fr.): 14.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.6 rpg
Kellan Grady (6-5, 205, Sr.): 11.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.1 apg
Keion Brooks (6-7, 210, Jr.): 10.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Shavir Walker (5-9, 180, Jr.): 10.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 7.1 apg
QUOTABLE
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl: “There's a lot at stake here. Take away the rankings — the winner of this game is going to be at least in control of the regular-season championship moving forward because we only play them once. So it's a huge opportunity for either team to kind of put themselves in position where everybody else is going to be looking up at you.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari: “They’re all tough matchups. They’re long, they're big, [Wendell] Green is good with the ball and shoots it, so they’re tough matchups. We’re going into a hostile environment. It's going to be a really hard game.”
NOTABLE
--Auburn’s 14-game winning streak is tied with Davidson for the nation’s longest.
--Auburn is the only SEC team with a perfect record in league play.
--Kentucky and Texas A&M are the only one-loss teams in SEC play. Kentucky lost at LSU and Texas A&M lost at home to Kentucky.
--Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe feels quite strongly about today’s game. Here is what he said after Kentucky beat Texas A&M: “We just need to go out there and fight. People go out and fight for their country,” Tshiebwe said to reporters via Zoom. They’re not going to play around; they are willing to die. We are willing to die just to bring a win Saturday. It is going to be a great game for us.”
