Kentucky controls No. 13 Auburn from the beginning for biggest win of the season so far
READ MORE
Game day: No. 22 Kentucky 70, No. 13 Auburn 59
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Auburn at Auburn, Alabama.
Expand All
Kentucky walked into one of the toughest environments in college basketball Saturday. And the Wildcats walked out winners.
No. 22-ranked UK defeated No. 13 Auburn 70-59 in Neville Arena, giving the Cats their biggest win so far in a 2023-24 season that had turned for the worse over the past three weeks. It was the second straight impressive effort from the Kentucky defense, which helped fuel a 75-53 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday night.
The Rebels went into that game rated No. 30 nationally in offensive efficiency. The Tigers are even better, coming into Saturday at No. 10 in that ranking. And UK’s win over Ole Miss came in Rupp Arena. This one happened in Neville in front of a raucous, standing-room only crowd that stayed loud despite Auburn playing from behind all night.
Antonio Reeves led the Cats with 22 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half, many of them during a stretch midway through the period as Auburn attempted to mount a comeback.
Adou Thiero added 14 points and eight rebounds in a game that featured a handful of highlight-reel dunks for the high-flying sophomore. Rob Dillingham chipped in with 11 points, all in the first half. Ugonna Onyenso tallied seven points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots in a team-high 36 minutes.
Kentucky never trailed in the game, taking the lead for good with 17:50 left in the first half. The Wildcats led by at least two possessions for the final 16 minutes of that half, going up by as much as 12 and taking a 39-29 advantage into halftime.
The Tigers made just 9 of 32 (28.1%) from the field in the first half. They never got any closer than five points to Kentucky in the second half — finishing at 17 of 55 (30.9%) from the field — with the Wildcats answering each of their comeback attempts with baskets of their own.
Auburn was 13-0 at home this season coming into Saturday’s game. The Tigers were also 45-2 in their last 47 home games in Neville Arena, and their average margin of victory in six SEC home games before Saturday was 22.3 points. All six of those wins came by double digits, including a 101-61 victory over No. 11 South Carolina just three days earlier.
Auburn started the day at No. 6 in the NET ratings — an important measuring tool for the NCAA Tournament selection committee — and this win for Kentucky marked just the second of the season against a team in the top 30 of those rankings. The other was a neutral-court win over North Carolina (No. 11 in the NET) on Dec. 16.
UK improved to 3-5 in Quad 1 games with the win, with three such games (Alabama in Rupp on Feb. 24, at Mississippi State on Feb. 27 and at Tennessee in the season finale on March 9).
The NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed its top 16 teams to this point in the season earlier Saturday. Auburn was a 4 seed and No. 13 on the seed list. Kentucky was not included, but the road win over the Tigers a few hours later will surely come in handy on Selection Sunday, which is now exactly one month away.
Tre Mitchell out
Kentucky was playing at less than full strength again Saturday, with fifth-year forward Tre Mitchell missing his third game in the past two weeks. Mitchell was sidelined from UK’s win over Vanderbilt and loss to Gonzaga last week with a back injury before returning to the court in the Cats’ win over Ole Miss on Tuesday night.
Mitchell suffered a shoulder injury early in the second half against Ole Miss, did not return to that game and was ruled out of Saturday’s matchup with Auburn. The 6-foot-9 forward was in attendance at Neville Arena, but he did not take part in any of the pregame warmups. He is averaging 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season and leads UK in rebounds.
With Mitchell out, the Wildcats’ starting lineup against Auburn consisted of D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso.
Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham were the first two Wildcats off the bench, entering the game with 16:32 left.
Kentucky’s next game
The Wildcats have another road game coming up next — a trip to LSU on Wednesday night, with a scheduled tipoff for 9 p.m. on ESPN.
The Tigers (13-12, 5-7 SEC) are coming off a 64-63 win at No. 11 South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Before that, they had lost three in a row and six of their previous seven games. LSU moved to No. 80 in the KenPom ratings after Saturday’s win.
Former UK player Daimion Collins is in his first season with the Tigers, but he’s played only six games and hasn’t made an appearance since Dec. 29 due to a shoulder injury. The former McDonald’s All-American is averaging 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game.
This story was originally published February 17, 2024 at 8:36 PM.
