Kentucky vs. Auburn: 2018-19 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Two SEC squads with identical records will go toe to toe on Saturday, as Kentucky and its talented freshmen pay a visit to Auburn.

TV schedule: Saturday, January 19, 4:00 pm ET. ESPN.
Arena: Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

The Southeastern Conference hoops race is heating up, with a tantalizing league game featuring two top-15 teams to transpire on Saturday afternoon.

No. 12 Kentucky (13-3, 3-1) is traveling to No. 14 Auburn (13-3, 2-1), and, as each of these schools seeks to conquer the other one, they also hope to keep pace with the SEC’s current trio of leaders, No. 3 Tennessee, LSU and South Carolina.

The Wildcats, winners of three contests in a row, looked pretty darn solid on Jan. 15 when they smoked Georgia by 20 points on the road. One day later, the Tigers, in their most-recent duel, defeated Texas A&M, 85-66, in College Station, Texas. Auburn itself is in the midst of a modest two-game victory streak.

So far during the 2018-19 campaign, Kentucky has fallen to Duke and Seton Hall at neutral sites, and also at Alabama. Conversely, the Wildcats own impressive conquests of North Carolina on a neutral court and at Louisville.

The Tigers’ three losses are to the Blue Devils at a neutral site, and on the road to N.C. State as well as Ole Miss. Auburn’s three strongest triumphs, to date, are likely over Arizona, Washington and Xavier.

Kentucky will attempt to enhance its 2-1 mark on the road, while the Tigers try to push their record at Auburn Arena to 9-0. Presently, the Wildcats have a NCAA NET rating of No. 10, with Auburn not too far behind, at No. 18.

Not only does this encounter have implications for the SEC standings, it also becomes a vital match-up in terms of eventual seeding for the Big Dance. I believe that both of these programs could ultimately wind up anywhere from the No. 2 to the No. 5 line. This is truly an opportunity for either Kentucky or the Tigers to notch a signature success.

In examining all of the various statistical categories, it appears that this duo of units is evenly matched, for the most part. Auburn scores about four more points a game, and it holds edges in rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.

The Wildcats, on the flip side, shoot roughly 30 percentage-points higher from the field, and they have a sizable advantage at the charity stripe, from a percentages standpoint. Kentucky has a quartet of really good freshmen, but how will they handle a boisterous opposing team’s home crowd?

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that the Tigers are the favorite to prevail, at 68.7 percent. That makes complete sense. However, I feel like the Wildcats are on the upswing. The safe bet is to predict an Auburn win. Naturally, I’m going with Kentucky then.

Prediction: Kentucky 82 – Auburn 77