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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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 21: Chuma Okeke #5 of the Auburn Tigers shoots the ball against C.J. Bobbitt #13 of the New Mexico State Aggies during the first half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

3. Auburn has to fill the void inevitably left by Chuma Okeke

The toughest part of the Sweet Sixteen game for Auburn was seeing their fearless leader Chuma Okeke go down with a knee injury. It’s been confirmed that he will be out for the game, and that came to no surprise after seeing him writhing in pain in the Sweet Sixteen game.

Okeke has averaged 15 points and 7.0 boards a game in this tournament. He hasn’t been their best player at all times, but he is a vital part of what they do. Auburn is going to have to find ways to replace those points and boards.

Okeke won’t be replaced by one single person. Players like Danjel Purifoy, Horace Spencer, and possibly Austin Wiley will all have to step up. This team will have to get tough and focus on boxing out more than before. Chuma solved a lot of Auburn’s problems, and it’s safe to assume he won’t be there to do that against Kentucky.

dark. Next. Looking ahead to top 2020 prospects

The silver lining of the injury is that the team seemed to rally around Okeke after he was hurt. For the rest of their season, Auburn will be playing for him. It reminds me of when Louisville rallied around the horrific Kevin Ware injury a few years ago in their championship year.

It’s going to be hard to win without Chuma, but they will have to if they want to advance to the Final Four.

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