Kentucky Wildcats vs surging Auburn Tigers
What an exciting weekend it has been so far in Nashville for the Kentucky Wildcats and company. From the last three seconds of the Ole Miss versus South Carolina game that saw Marshall Henderson jumping in the crowd to dropping his jaw in shock. Oh, and who could forget the amazing run that the Auburn Tigers have been on, hitting a three at the end of regulation to force overtime and eventually knock off the heavy favorite LSU.
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While it has been fun to cheer for the revived Auburn Tigers and Bruce Pearl so far, today the Kentucky Wildcats go to war with the War Eagles. Today will be the fourth game in a row for Auburn, will they have the legs to endure the undefeated Cats?
"Auburn will be playing for the fourth time in four days, which is tough for a team that really plays only seven, or maybe eight players. Kentucky’s size and depth will allow the Wildcats to move to 33-0 and one step closer to a perfect season."
Mar 12, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Auburn Tigers coach Bruce Pearl during the first half of the second round against the Texas A&M Aggies in the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach Bruce Pearl has admitted himself that his team can beat anyone in the SEC… except for the Kentucky Wildcats. Good luck trying to convince the Auburn Tigers of that. This team is firing on all cylinders bursting not one but possibly two bubble in their journey to the Semi-Finals.
Auburn players are loving the underdog role and really embracing the opportunity of a new season. K.T. Harrell and Cinmeon Bowers remember how the last match up went and are expecting a different out come this time around.
"K.T. Harrell “We know we’re definitely not picked to win this game at all. But we haven’t been picked to win any of these games. Most people didn’t think we’d be in the situation we’re in now, so we’re just blessed.” Cinmeon Bowers “Everybody underestimated us… This is March. This is a new season, no matter what the records are. We owe them. They put up 110 points on us. Tomorrow’s not going to go like that.”"
Mar 13, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts against Florida Gators during the first half of the third round of the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
The last time these two teams met it was not pretty for the Auburn Tigers. Although the Tigers scored 75 points in the last match up, they allowed a season high 110 points for the Kentucky Wildcats. The last meeting, the War Eagles made 11 out of 19 three pointers and it was still not enough to knock of the Cats.
The Auburn Tigers will also be short handed after an altercation in the quarterfinals with LSU from Jordan Granger. Going up against the size of Kentucky, not having another forward to play will hurt their odds. Kentucky Wildcats cruise to the finals 72-54.
"Although the 75 points were the second-most the Wildcats have allowed this season behind an 89-86 overtime win over Ole Miss on Jan. 6, their lights-out performance on offense made it completely irrelevant.Antoine Mason scored 29 points and Harrell added 17, but six Wildcats finished in double figures led by Karl-Anthony Towns‘ 19, and two others nearly joined them as Willie Cauley-Stein andTrey Lyles scored nine apiece."