Get to know: No. 17 Kentucky

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers open up a two-game road trip as they travel to Lexington, KY to take on the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats.

Auburn looks to end its struggles in Rupp Arena, and achieve its first win in Lexington since Jan. 9, 1988. This will be the Tigers best opportunity, with a 26-2 record and a 14-1 record in the SEC.

“They’ve always been great and we’ve usually been not great. That’s why it’s 2-31. I’ve brought some really good Auburn and Tennessee teams up to Rupp and not won. Their fans know the game," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I’ve never not gone to a game at Kentucky where they didn’t get a good whistle. But, they’ve earned it."

Kentucky has compiled one of the more interesting resumes in the sport at 19-9, going 7-2 against AP top 15 teams, while only being 4-6 against unranked power conference opponents. 

The Wildcats have wins over No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Florida, two wins over No. 5 Tennessee, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 19 Louisville and No. 24 Mississippi State. However, they have also suffered losses to Ohio State, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Texas. 

"Kentucky has beaten the two teams that have beaten us. They beat Duke. They beat Florida. That's significant, that we're playing a team that has done that. They've got seven wins over the top 15. That's not just having a better matchup. They're good. And I think Coach Pope knows that, heading into the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky will be a tough draw," Pearl said.

Kentucky is led by first-year head coach Mark Pope, who spent time at Utah Valley and BYU before taking the head role in Lexington.

Pope brings a modern style offense to Kentucky that ranks sixth in offensive efficiency according to KenPom. The challenge for the Wildcats has been on defense. Kentucky is ranked 61st in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, but this number has been on the rise, sitting at over 100 earlier in the season.

The coaching staff wasn’t the only change for the Wildcats, as the roster is entirely new this season, with the top nine leading scorers all being transfers, and the rest of the team freshmen.

Well balanced scoring is a key to Kentucky’s success, and junior guard Otega Oweh has led the Wildcats in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Oweh has scored in double figures in 27 out of 28 games, and is coming off a 28-point outing against his former team, Oklahoma. Slowing him down will be a potential key for Auburn to get the road victory.

"I mean, he's a monster. Oweh is a very tough cover," Pearl said. "He can get downhill. He can make tough twos. He gets to the foul line the fifth- or sixth-most of any guard in our league. Not fouling him is difficult. He can make a 3-point shot. He'll make incredible defensive plays, blocking shots. He's got that next-level athleticism,"

Fifth-year senior Lamont Butler is the head of the Kentucky defense, and scores 12.3 points per game along with 4.7 assists at the point guard position. Rounding out the last starting guard is fifth-year senior Jaxson Robinson. Robinson followed Pope from BYU to Kentucky and is scoring 13.0 points a night. Robinson will be interesting to monitor as he is working his way back from a wrist injury.

At power forward, fifth-year senior Andrew Carr and senior Ansley Almonor have recently split time starting. Carr scores 9.7 points per game with 4.6 rebounds, and finds a majority of his success in the post. Almonor is much more of a threat from the perimeter, averaging 5.9 points on 43.8% from three.

Kentucky initiates a lot of its offense through fifth-year senior Amari Williams. Williams was named the CAA defensive player of the year three years in a row at Drexel. The 7-foot-0 center averages 10.9 points with 8.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Williams also recorded the fourth triple-double in Kentucky history earlier this season against Ole Miss. 

"You look at Kentucky and they average 91 points per game at home. How many less can we hold Kentucky to, to have a chance to win? They average 19 and a half assists at home, 19 and a half. They shoot 40 percent from three and make over 10 a game at home. They have some great, great pieces," Pearl said.

Rounding out the key contributors for Kentucky is sharpshooter Koby Brea and center Brandon Garrison. Brea scores 10.9 points a game on 43.6% shooting from three, down from 49.8% in 2023-24. Garrison scores 6.0 points and grabs 4.2 rebounds per game.

Both Auburn and Kentucky rank within the top 20 nationally in 3-point defense, holding opponents to under 30% from behind the arc. Whichever team is able to ignore that statistic and find success from deep could come away with the win.

"We talk about winning a championship, but then again, we just say this is the most important game. It’s the next game," Auburn guard Denver Jones said. "After we got done playing Ole Miss yesterday in practice, Dylan came up and was like, ‘Look, this is one of the most important games of the year right here. We win this, we’re good. Just lock in for this next game.’ And I feel like that’s the mindset that we carry over for one game at a time."

The Tigers will look to get the road win over the Wildcats as they face off inside of Rupp Arena on Saturday, March 1 at 12 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on ABC.