Auburn Basketball: Keys for Tigers to beat Kentucky in Elite Eight

By Dakota Cox | Mar 30, 2019

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 29: Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers celebrates against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at Sprint Center on March 29, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 25: Horace Spencer #0 of the Auburn Tigers pulls down a rebound ahead of Mike Thomas #25 of the Hawai’I Rainbow Warriors at the Stan Sheriff Center on December 25, 2015 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

1. Auburn has to keep the rebounding numbers close

When Auburn runs their high-paced offense, they usually use a smaller lineup. Most of their guards are undersized, and their only center in the rotation is currently averaging only 4.2 boards a game. Their leading rebounder Chuma Okeke is out for the game, so it becomes even more important that the rest of the team rallies around the boards.

North Carolina was one of the best rebounding teams in the country. A big reason why Auburn won that game was because they did so well on the boards. They didn’t even win the rebounding game, but just the fact that it was close meant that UNC couldn’t take advantage of a lot of extra possessions. UNC only got four more boards than Auburn. If the Tigers can rebound like that against the Tarheels, they have a chance to out-rebound Kentucky.

Auburn is currently being out-rebounded by about one board a game on average. Kentucky averages 9.5 more boards a game. This will be a key storyline for the game because Auburn can do a lot with just a few more possessions. If Kentucky denies this opportunity, it will be tough for Auburn to find other ways to keep this close.

Kentucky wins on the boards thanks to the size of their wings. PJ Washington and Reid Travis are tough to handle on the glass. It will be crucial for the Tigers to find them on the shot and put a body on them. They will also have to get crafty on the offensive side to steal a few extra possessions from the hands of the Wildcat defenders.

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