Kentucky found what it took when it mattered in SEC-clinching win over Auburn
Instant analysis from No. 8 Kentucky’s 73-66 win over No. 15 Auburn:
How the game was won
Immanuel Quickley, Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards came up big as Kentucky snapped its two-game losing streak vs. Auburn and clinched its 49th SEC regular-season title.
Who’s hot
1. Immanuel Quickley. On a day when he didn’t shoot well from the floor (3-of-10 field goals, 1-of-5 treys), the UK sophomore guard still produced a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds).
2. Tyrese Maxey. As he tends to do in “big-stage games,” the Kentucky freshman guard played strong (17 points, seven rebounds, four assists).
3. Nick Richards. The UK center hit all five of his field-goal tries and scored 10 of his 14 points in a tense second half.
4. Kentucky rebounders. Beaten on the boards 42-28 in UK’s 75-66 loss at Auburn Feb. 1, the Cats fought to a 38-38 draw on the glass Saturday.
Who’s not
1. Ashton Hagans. The Kentucky point guard did a good job of taking care of the basketball (only one turnover in 34 minutes) but missed 11 of the 13 shots he attempted.
2. Auburn three-point shooters. The Tigers started the game 4-of-4 from behind the arc and went 5-of-30 for the rest of the game.
3. Auburn foul shooters. In a close game on the road, the Tigers were only 13-of-22.
Key number(s)
Twelve and seven. John Calipari now has a 12-7 record against teams coached by Bruce Pearl — as Memphis coach, Calipari was 2-2 vs. Pearl as Tennessee head man; as Kentucky coach, Calipari was 4-1 vs. Pearl-coached Tennessee teams and is now 6-4 vs. Pearl-led Auburn squads.
The ‘Cat-mosphere’
1. Former Kentucky center Sam Bowie made a point of greeting his former UK coach, Joe B. Hall, before tip-off.
2. Johnson County singer Marlana VanHoose rocked Rupp Arena with a stirring rendition of the national anthem.
3. Bruce Pearl got the most zestful Rupp Arena booing any visiting coach has received in 2019-20.
4. Lexington’s Nick Hostetter, a 2019 UK graduate, hit a half-court shot during a first-half TV timeout and won $10,000.
5. Antoine Walker, one of the stars of UK’s 1996 NCAA championship team, was shown on the Rupp video boards and waved to the crowd.
6. Sam Bowie, one of the stars of Kentucky’s 1984 Final Four team, was “the Y.”
Up next
No. 8 Kentucky (24-5, 14-2 SEC) will face Tennessee (16-13, 8-8 SEC) Tuesday at 9 p.m. (EST) in the 2019-20 regular-season finale at Rupp Arena. The game will be telecast by ESPN.
Auburn (24-5, 11-5 SEC) will play host to Texas A&M (14-14, 8-8 SEC) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (EST).
