The men's basketball team traveled to Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 9 to try and avenge its 75-53 loss to the Wildcats earlier in the season, but fouls would cost the Tigers and allow Kentucky to pull away to a 72-62 victory in Rupp Arena.
Auburn started the game fast jumping out to an early 10-6 lead, but Kentucky would battle back and retake the lead with a little more than 13 minutes to go in the first half.
Several times in the first half Kentucky would go on a run, but time and time again Auburn would battle back and close the gap.
The low point of the first half came with a little more than one minute to go when Jordan Granger was ejected from the game for punching Kentucky's Archie Goodwin.
Three-point shooting was Auburn's strength in the first half, going 6-9 beyond the arch, but fouls by the Tigers would help Kentucky end the half with a 37-31 lead.
The last time these two teams faced off in Auburn, the players admitted to being a little scared. That was not the case in Saturday's game as Auburn played an extremely physical brand of basketball.
But this physical style of play would cost the Tigers 29 fouls on the day.
These fouls would earn Kentucky most of its points of the day from the free throw line, going 26-38, while the Tigers were only 11-17.
Foul troubles would also cost Auburn its big players in the latter part of the game. Rob Chubb and Asaun Dixon-Tatum would both foul out of the game along with Granger, who was ejected in the first half. With these players out of the game, Auburn would have no answer for Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, who finished the day with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Willie Cauley-Stein, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
Frankie Sullivan also did not play the final 10 minutes of the game after Head Coach Tony Barbee decided to take him out of the game after a flagrant foul in the second half.
Auburn would continue fighting until the end, but the Wildcats would hold on for the victory.
Auburn's Chris Denson finished the game with 15 points, going 7-10 on field goals with four rebounds.
The Tigers will return to Auburn on Wednesday night, Feb. 13 to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at Auburn Arena.
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