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Auburn Basketball: 2018-19 keys to beating Kentucky at home

By Jason Burgess

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Bryce Brown #2 and Malik Dunbar #4 of the Auburn Tigers flex after Brown scored during the second half of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Bryce Brown #2 and Malik Dunbar #4 of the Auburn Tigers flex after Brown scored during the second half of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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AUBURN, ALABAMA – DECEMBER 22: Jared Harper #1 of the Auburn Tigers pushes the ball up the court against the Murray State Racers at Auburn Arena on December 22, 2018 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
AUBURN, ALABAMA – DECEMBER 22: Jared Harper #1 of the Auburn Tigers pushes the ball up the court against the Murray State Racers at Auburn Arena on December 22, 2018 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Auburn Basketball will look to fend off visiting Kentucky on Saturday in a key SEC battle. Here’s a look at some things the Tigers must do to earn a win.

A big top-15 SEC game takes place in Auburn, Alabama on Saturday afternoon as the No. 14 Auburn Tigers (13-3, 2-1) play host to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (13-3, 3-1). There are currently three undefeated teams in the conference led by No. 3 Tennessee. Since being demolished by Duke in the Champion’s Classic, their other two losses came to Seton Hall by one in overtime and by two to Alabama. The Tigers on the other hand, who are currently positioned as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to our resident bracketologist Lukas Harkins have only suffered losses to No. 1 Duke, No. 17 N.C. State, and No. Ole Miss.

Bruce Pearl’s Tigers have been pretty prolific offensively, since their win over St. Peter’s on Nov. 28, they have scored at least 75 points in six of their last seven wins, while in their two losses in that stretch, they have only scored 71 and 67 against N.C. State and Ole Miss respectively. Aside from the Duke game, the Wildcats have been flat out dominant, with their closest win coming by nine points against Vanderbilt last Saturday, and considering the Seton Hall and Alabama came by a total of three points, Kentucky could easily be 15-1.

In the SEC, defending your home floor is imperative and this game should be tight the whole way. In order for Auburn to come away with a home victory, here are three aspects of the game that are key to a Tigers’ victory.

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