The Auburn Tigers (14-14, 3-11 SEC) are set to wrap up their 2025-26 home slate with a matchup against the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (20-8, 7-7 SEC) on Thursday night.
Auburn will recognize its five seniors before its final game in Neville Arena, as Angena Belloso, Kaitlyn Duhon, Ja’Mia Harris, A’riel Jackson and Mya Petticord will be honored before the game.
In addition to Senior Night, Thursday night will also serve as Auburn’s annual Play4Kay game, during which the Tigers will wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness, survivors and research. Fans are encouraged to sport pink to show their support to the cause, as well.
The Tigers come into the clash of the cats having lost eight of their last nine games, most recently defeating Missouri to claim its third SEC victory last Thursday and falling to No. 23 Georgia this past Monday, 74-52. The other two conference wins came on Jan. 11 and Jan. 15, as Auburn took down Florida and No. 21 Alabama in back-to-back outings.
Auburn is led by freshman guard Harissoum Coulibaly, who headlines the team in scoring with a team-best 10.5 points per game. Senior guard Duhon is not far behind Coulibaly with 10.0 points per contest, while sophomore forward Khady Leye posts an average of 9.0 points per outing.
As demonstrated by the Tigers’ leading scorers, Auburn is certainly a team with lackluster offensive production, as it ranks last in the SEC with an average of just 60.5 points per contest. Furthermore, Auburn also sits last in the league in field goals made (22.2 per game) and 15th in 3-pointers made (4.7 per game).
On the flip side, Kentucky enters Thursday fresh off an 81-79 loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt in Nashville, having dropped three of its last four games. The Wildcats claimed 20-plus-point victories over Texas A&M and No. 14 Ole Miss prior to the Vanderbilt loss.
Starting center Clara Stack stands as Kentucky’s biggest threat, as the 6-foot-5 junior leads the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game. Her best performance of the season came on Feb. 1 when she notched a career-high 33 points in their 20-point win over Arkansas.
The Wildcats boast a solid scoring effort, averaging 76.5 points per game, but their defense could pose trouble for Auburn’s struggling offense, as they give up under 60 points per outing to opposing teams.
Although a bid to the NCAA Tournament is out of the picture for Larry Vickers and company in his first season on the Plains, Auburn could still surpass its SEC win total from last year (three) with a win over the Wildcats on Thursday.
Additionally, a victory would mark the Tigers’ third in four tries against Kentucky, and it would be Auburn’s second top-25 win this year.
The senior night battle between the Tigers and the Wildcats is set to tip off at 6 p.m. CST inside Neville Arena. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
