Two teams in need of quality league wins meet Saturday when Kentucky, owners of a solid NCAA Tournament resume, travels to Auburn, which is likely sitting on the tournament bubble.
The visiting Wildcats (17-9, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) might still have a bit of margin for error, but a pair of losses have shortened that span. After losing at Florida, Kentucky fell at home to Georgia 86-78 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs shot 14-for-31 (45.2%) from 3-point range while Kentucky forced only seven turnovers.
“We were not good defensively,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “That was disappointing effort from us, and it’s going to be hard to win when you let people shoot that well.”
Otega Oweh scored 28 points for Kentucky in the loss, shooting 11-for-18. Collin Chandler connected on a career-best six 3-pointers in 10 tries for 18 points. Denzel Aberdeen added 14 points, but Kentucky got just eight points from its bench.
The Wildcats are currently No. 30 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, with the Georgia defeat being their second Quad 2 loss of the season.
Auburn (14-12, 5-8) has its own woes, having dropped five consecutive games. On Wednesday, the Tigers fell to Mississippi State 91-85, with Josh Hubbard dropping 46 points on Auburn, including 10-for-16 on 3-point shooting. Mississippi State was 16-for-30 (53.3%) on long-range attempts for the game.
Auburn rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to lead by seven points but hit a cold streak late in the game.
“If we can draw from those 15 minutes in the second half that we played really well, we can do something with it,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “But if we continue to go to slow starts, we’re not going to win any games.”
Keyshawn Hall led Auburn with 29 points (8-for-17 shooting) and 10 rebounds. Tahaad Pettiford added 21 points and Kevin Overton contributed 15 points, including 4-for-7 on 3-point shooting.
Despite their record, the Tigers are No. 34 in the current NET rankings, but they still could be in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament field.
