After a monster performance against No.11 South Carolina on Wednesday night, the Tigers are getting prepared to face the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats and their electrifying offense.
Its offense is ranked in the top 10 according to KenPom and is the No. 2 offense in the SEC only behind Alabama.
“Kentucky is really good,” said Bruce Pearl. “They’re one of the best offensive teams in the country. They have five guys averaging double-digit scoring, four tough guards to cover. They’ve got four or five guys that are in mock drafts for next year and they are like third or fourth in the nation in blocked shots. They do a great job protecting the rim. We struggled against Florida’s length, and we’re going to find a way to not allow Kentucky to have the same impact on us that Florida's length did.”
Kentucky came into the season with the No. 1 recruiting class according to 247Sports. Three of those five guys that average double-digits, are freshmen. Antonio Reeves, a senior forward, is the team’s leading scorer with 19.4 points per game and is in the hunt for SEC player of the year.
“Reeves has always killed us,” said Pearl. “He’s always killed us. He’s a big, big, big, long physical guard who really shoots it. He’s improved his float game, his mid-range game. (Reed) Sheppard leads the league in steals. He is a dynamic point guard, great shooter, great playmaker has great patience and poise. You know already a Kentucky favorite. (Rob) Dillingham is a one-man scoring machine. He scores like I breathe I mean he’s just a very very dangerous microwave type of a player."
While Kentucky’s offense has helped the team win most of its games, its defense is what has cost the Wildcats, as they’ve only allowed opposing teams to score under one point per possession in a game eight times all season. They are ranked outside the top 100 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
Auburn and Kentucky have been known for each team's depth throughout the season. Though Kentucky may have more talent according to recruiting rankings, Auburn makes up for it with its experience. The defensive effort will be key for the Tigers in slowing down some of the Wildcats top scorers as Auburn currently has one of the top five defenses in the country according to KenPom.
The Tigers have not lost a game at home this season, as they’re current average margin of victory at home in conference play is 22.3 points.
“You hope that obviously the home-court advantage inspires your guys, and we hope that it bothers the opponent,” Pearl said. “Kentucky actually plays better on the road, a lot of pressure in Rupp Arena to win and they’ve lost I think three games at home. And sometimes they get away from home and there’s just a lot less pressure, a lot less pressure to win. And so, as a result they’ve done really well on the road, and they’ve shot it well on the road. And they’ve got again the kind of talent that can be fearless. These are confident players.”
Auburn versus Kentucky, which is preceded by College Gameday, is set to tip off on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. CST with television coverage on ESPN.
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William Halliday started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. He is a journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee.
Twitter: @wphalliday3
