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GAME 23

AUBURN TIGERS (9-13, 3-6 SEC)
Febuary 7, 2013 – 4:00 PM
RUPP ARENA, LEXINGTON, KY

TV – WKYT & ESPN3

KENTUCKY LEADS SERIES 86-17

LAST FIVE MEETINGS

1/19/2013 KENTUCKY 75 Auburn 53
1/11/2012: KENTUCKY 68 Auburn 53
1/11/2011: KENTUCKY 78 Auburn 54
1/16/2010: KENTUCKY 72 Auburn 67
1/21/2009: KENTUCKY 73 Auburn 64

Anytime Kentucky has been in need of a confidence booster, Auburn has typically been willing to be just that. UK has won 14 in a row vs. the Tigers, and the last loss UK suffered to Charles Barkley’s alma-mater was in 2000, when the #4 Tigers beat an unranked UK squad.

The Cats and Tigers squared off less than a month ago in Auburn, and UK used a furious second-half run to extend a 30-25 halftime lead into a 22-point blowout. Kyle Wiltjer scored 17 points for the second straight game, and Kentucky held Auburn without a 3-pointer in front of their home crowd. It was the first time Auburn didn’t hit a three=-pointer since going 0/14 at Mississippi on March 1, 1997.

Nerlens Noel came within an afro hair of a triple-double, notching 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. Rob Chubb had 14 points and seven boards, while leading-scorer Frankie Sullivan scored 12 point on just 5/16 shooting.

PROJECTED STARTERS

#11 G JOSH WALLACE – SR 5’10, 170
3.4 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.5 RPG

#23 G FRANKIE SULLIVAN – SR 6’1, 206
17.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.3 APG

4.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.4 APG

#2 F ALLEN PAYNE – JR 6’6, 215
8.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.5 APG

#41 C ROB CHUBB – SR 6’10, 250
9,9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 0.9 BPG

FULL TEAM STATISTICS

Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%
Frankie Sullivan	22	32.5	16.1	4.2	2.9	.377	.770	.283
Chris Denson	11	24.7	11.5	3.0	1.5	.446	.629	.313
Rob Chubb	22	26.4	9.5	7.5	0.8	.509	.613	.000
Allen Payne	22	28.3	8.4	4.7	1.3	.469	.709	.216
Noel Johnson	22	18.3	5.5	2.3	0.5	.345	.571	.388
Jordan Price	17	14.5	5.4	1.6	0.9	.392	.727	.423
Shaquille Johnson	22	17.9	4.6	2.9	1.4	.360	.700	.308
Asauhn Dixon-Tatum	22	14.1	4.2	3.4	0.2	.500	.679	.000
Josh Wallace	22	24.7	3.9	2.0	3.2	.342	.727	.286
Brian Greene Jr.	20	12.4	3.4	0.7	1.3	.417	.538	.476
Shareif Adamu	6	12.3	2.7	2.0	0.5	.357	.625	.250
Nick Pellar	2	2.0	1.5	0.5	0.0	.500	.000	1.000
Jordon Granger	14	5.6	1.1	1.1	0.1	.286	.875	.000
Dylan Spencer	3	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	.000	.000	.000
C.J. Holmes	4	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	.000	.000	.000
Totals	22	–	67	35	13	.414	.692	.330

The Wildcats are playing their best basketball now, and coming off of a 77-55 victory over Sout Carolina in the midst of a 4-game winning-streak has the Cats’ confidence rising by the day. The danger of this game is that UK will travel to Gainesville next Tuesday to face the SEC-leading Florida Gators, so this is your typical trap game, though Auburn resembles more of a mouse trap.

I think this young UK squad will come out float early, and lead by just single-digits going into halftime before they use a second-half run to pull away and claim their fifth-straight win by a 77-56 margin.