As Cinmeon Bowers walked to his press conference on Friday to preview Saturday’s game against Kentucky, he received a phone call from Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who gave him some talking points for his media availability.
After Bowers arrived at the arena, Auburn basketball sports information director Chuck Gallina pulled him aside.
Gallina’s message was simple and much like Pearl’s: “Cim, no bulletin-board material.”
Bowers did not heed the advice.
He was asked what advantages he thought Auburn had over Kentucky, and the senior forward couldn’t help himself.
“They’re not really a good shooting team,” Bowers said. “I believe our guards are better than their guards — Kareem Canty, Bryce Brown, TJ Lang. … We’re going to make it a good game.”
Considering Kentucky, a perennial powerhouse, and All-SEC guard Tyler Ulis came to Auburn Arena ranked 14th in the nation, the words didn’t seem wise at the time.
But a day later, all of Bowers’ prophecies proved true in Auburn’s 75-70 upset of Kentucky, the Tigers’ first win over the Wildcats in their last 19 attempts.
Auburn held Kentucky to 34 percent shooting from the field, including 31 percent in the second half, which was well below the Wildcats’ season average of 47 percent. While Auburn went on its big run in the second half, Kentucky made only one of its 13 shots over a five-minute stretch.
Auburn’s guards contained Kentucky’s offensively and put them in foul trouble on defense.
The three guards Bowers mentioned — Canty, Brown and Lang — combined for 38 points, nine 3-pointers and four turnovers. Ulis and Kentucky guards Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray combined for 45 points on 31 percent shooting, zero 3-pointers and seven turnovers.
Finally, Auburn did more than “make it a good game,” as Bowers had predicted. The Tigers used a 16-2 run to storm back from a 12-point deficit in the second half, which was Kentucky’s biggest blown lead of the season by a large margin. The win was Auburn’s first over Kentucky since 2000.
After the game, Pearl stood near the scorer’s table and watched Auburn players and students pour onto the floor and celebrate at midcourt for the first time in Auburn Arena.
A few minutes later, during his own press conference, Pearl recalled Bowers’ comments, shook his head and chuckled.
“You don’t want to suffocate them. You don’t want them to not be who they are,” Pearl said. “You want to coach them, you want to train them, you want to teach them. Sometimes kids do the darndest things.”
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