Kentucky basketball: Game preview, 3 keys vs Auburn
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team face perhaps their toughest to date when they visit the No. 10 Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night. Can the Wildcats get back on track after dropping 3 straight games?
The Kentucky basketball team goes on the road Wednesday night against the No. 10 Auburn Tigers. Bruce Pearl’s team sits atop the SEC and poses an enormous challenge for John Calipari’s young Kentucky team.
The Wildcats, for the first time under head coach Calipari, have lost 3 straight games. The Cats were boat-raced Saturday night by the Aggies in College Station. The 85-74 loss wasn’t remotely as close as the 11-point margin makes it appear. Kentucky was dominated in the second half by Texas A&M.
The Wildcats gave up almost 60 points in the second half of Saturday’s loss to the Aggies. If the Wildcats can’t play effective defense, they have no shot against Auburn. At 84.1 points per game, the Tigers lead the SEC in scoring and are 8th in the nation.
Auburn is also dynamite from beyond the arc. The Tigers lead the SEC in three-point attempts (310), makes (126) and percentage (40.6%). Of the 12 SEC games the Kentucky basketball team has defended the three-pointer better than any team in the SEC this season. The Cats are only averaging teams to shoot 26.1% from downtown. Coach Cal’s squad needs to maintain that level of perimeter defense to have any chance against the Tigers.
Can the Kentucky basketball team rebound from 3 straight losses and grab a huge road win? Will John Calipari and his coaching staff figure out what makes this team tick? Can the Cats contain the Tigers’ backcourt duo? Check out the game preview and 3 keys to a UK victory.