At Neville Arena, the No. 12 Auburn Tigers have been unstoppable the whole season. That waggon broke all four wheels on Saturday, went downhill, and collided with “Village Dining.”
The offence of Auburn, which had been so strong at home all season, managed just 59 points against a No. 20 Kentucky defence that was, at most, mediocre. Stars Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome were mainly ineffectual in the Tigers’ 70-59 loss to the Wildcats; Williams was eventually forced to leave the game midway through the second half due to injury.
To be honest, all Tigers were practically invisible to the College GameDay audience, with the exception of guard Chad Baker-Mazara.
When facing a strong Kentucky offence that performed admirably away from home, the Tigers’ offensive problems proved to be too much to overcome. Although Rob Dillingham and Austin Reeves, the guards, weren’t especially good, they were able to draw foul after foul and keep Auburn’s perimeter defence frustrated for forty minutes.
Players like Tre Donaldson (0/3 from the field), Aden Holloway (1/5 from the field), and K.D. Johnson (3/10 from the field) clearly vented their frustration on the offensive end. Specifically, Holloway carried on with his vicious streak. For the season, the rookie is now only 2 for 21 from three-point range.
There are other reasons why Auburn’s defeat is heartbreaking, but the most obvious one is that, with five games left in the SEC, they suddenly trail archrival Alabama by 1.5 games. Even though Auburn still has a road game remaining in Knoxville against No. 9 Tennessee, their chances of winning the SEC regular season championship are very remote.
Positively, the Tigers will have a whole week to reorganise before heading to Athens to play a subpar Georgia squad the following Saturday.
Regarding Kentucky, the Wildcats are still in the SEC race, especially after their next games against LSU and Alabama in Rupp Arena the following week.
