Live updates from Kentucky vs. Auburn college basketball at Rupp Arena
Having lost seven of its last eight games, including a 66-59 defeat at Auburn on Jan. 16, Kentucky welcomes the visiting Tigers to Rupp Arena on Saturday. CBS has the coverage, starting at 1 p.m.
Check here for updates, statistics and analysis as John Calipari’s Wildcats try to improve on their 5-13 record, 4-7 in the SEC. Scroll down and follow our dedicated Twitter feed.
Post-game links for Kentucky-Auburn
Gut check victory leads Calipari to think of historic turnaround
Three takeaways (plus one) from Kentucky’s win over Auburn
Kentucky’s shooters have turned into makers
Kentucky’s indispensable player comes through yet again
Box score from Kentucky’s win over Auburn
Kentucky prevails this time against Auburn
Final: Kentucky 82, Auburn 80
UK snaps a four-game losing streak and improves to 6-13 overall and 5-7 in the SEC. Cats got 18 points and 11 rebounds plus some key plays down the stretch from Isaiah Jackson. Kentucky ended up making 11 of 24 three-point shots, none bigger than the Mintz three that put the Cats up 80-77 with 32 seconds remaining. BJ Boston was 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Mintz 3 puts UK up 80-77 with 28.4 left
After Auburn had taken advantage of Kentucky turnovers to tie the game at 77, Mintz stepped up and drilled a three-point from the right of the key to put the Cats back in front. Auburn calls ime with 28.4 seconds remaining at Rupp.
Kentucky 74, Auburn 68 with 3:39 left
UK turned the ball over in the backcourt three times in four possessions, helping Auburn cut the lead to 72-66. But after a Cooper turnover, Mintz slammed home a fast break. Boston leads the Cats with 17 points. He’s 5-of-8 from three-point range. UK is 10-of-23 for the game. Turnovers: Auburn 17, Kentucky 10. Remember, UK turned it over 18 times in the first game with the Tigers back on Jan. 16.
Hitting the glass, Kentucky up 69-58
Back-to-back rebound baskets by Brooks and Jackson have given Kentucky an 11-point lead with 7:14 left at Rupp. The Wildcats now have 14 offensive rebounds. Jackson has 16 points and nine rebounds. Auburn is 9-of-24 rom the floor this half for 37.5 percent.
Kentucky rolling with 60-47 lead with 11:31 left
Isaiah Jackson leads way with 14 points, Brandon Boston with 12 points. Kentucky has made 9 of 13 shots this half, including 5 of 6 from three-point range. Auburn’s Bruce Pearl got a technical foul with 13:12 left, matching John Calipari’s technical with 3:23 left in the first half.
Kentucky 52, Auburn 45 with 13:57 left
Kentucky has hit the second half red-hot, hitting five of six three-point shots on the way to opening up a seven-point lead. BJ Boston is now 4-of-6 from three-point land. The Cats are 8-of-17 from three-point range for the game. This, after going 14-of-26 Tuesday against Arkansas.
Kentucky starts second half with run, leads 47-41
UK opens the second half with a 17-5 run to take a 47-41 lead. Mintz three-pointer tied it at 38. Cooper answered with three for Auburn. But Kentucky then scored nine straight points with Sarr and Boston each making three-pointers. Auburn called time with 15:50 left in the game.
Halftime: Auburn 36, Kentucky 30
Big difference is shooting, as usual. UK was just 11-of-33 from the floor for 33.3 percent. Cats missed eight of their 11 three-point shots, after going 14-for-26 for the game in Tuesday’s 81-80 loss to Arkansas. Auburn was 13-of-32 in the first half for 40.6 percent. Tigers were 6-of-13 from 3. Sharife Cooper led Auburn with nine points. Keion Brooks led UK with 8.
Auburn 28-24 with 3:55 left in the first half
Jalen Johnson, Sharife Cooper and JT Thor each have six points for the Tigers. Kentucky has blocked six Auburn shots to this point. UK just 9-of-24 from the floor for 37.5 percent, however. And Auburn has a 19-10 edge on the boards. Tigers with eight offensive rebounds to just six defensive boards for the home team.
Auburn 21-16 over Kentucky with 8:00 left in first half
Keion Brooks has given the Cats a lift, scoring seven quick points. UK now 6-of-18 from the floor. Auburn is 8-of-17. Auburn has turned it over eight times. UK has turned it over five times.
Auburn 13-7 with 11:37 left in first half
The Tigers have committed six turnovers but have a six-point lead over the Cats. Kentucky is just 2-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from three-point range. Auburn’s Jalen Johnson has knocked home a pair of three-pointers and leads all scorers with six points.
Kentucky starts cold shooting from the floor
The Cats missed eight of their first nine shots and fell behind Auburn 7-4 at the 15:28 TV timeout in the first half. Davion Mintz is 0-for-3. Isaiah Jackson made a pair of free throws, then scored the home team’s only field goal when he jammed hoe a rebound.
Officials for Kentucky-Auburn
The officials are Don Daily, Vladimir Voyard-Tadal and Bryan Jarrett. Daily has done UK games with Morehead State, Richmond and Florida this season. Voyard-Tadal has done the Morehead State, Richmond, Florida and LSU games. Jarrett did UK’s games with Richmond, Mississippi State and Alabama at Rupp Arena.
WKYT will air game despite impeachment hearings
WKYT-27, Lexington’s CBS affiliate, will broadcast the Kentucky-Auburn game even if CBS coverage of the impeachment hearings goes past the 1 p.m. tipoff. WKYT is also scheduled to air a UK basketball special starting at noon.
Details from first Kentucky-Auburn game
Auburn defeated the Cats 66-59 at Auburn on Jan. 16. Allen Flanigan led Auburn with 21 points and nine rebounds. The Tigers’ star freshman guard. Sharife Cooper. was just three of 13 from the floor but had eight assists. Kentucky was 4-for-17 from three-point territory in the game. The Cats also had 18 turnovers compared to just seven assists. Still, Auburn’s lead was just 58-56 with 1:20 remaining before the Tigers closed out the win. Auburn has never swept a two-game series with UK in same season.
How the computer analytics see Kentucky-Auburn
Auburn is No. 65 in the NCAA Net computer rankings. The Tigers are No. 61 in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, including No. 34 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 92 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Kentucky is No. 81 in NET rankings and No. 62 in kenpom. The Cats are 105th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 23rd in adjusted defensive efficiency. Pomeroy has UK with a 58 percent chance of winning 72-70. UK is a two-point favorite.
Justin Powell misses out on Kentucky game
Kentucky native Justin Powell will not be playing on Saturday when Auburn visits Rupp Arena. The former North Oldham star has been out since he hit his head no the floor in Auburn’s game against Texas A&M on Jan. 2. He has not yet been released from concussion protocol. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Powell averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and four assists through 10 games before the injury. “He’s doing OK,” said Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl, “but he misses his team.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
