Auburn Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Tigers home matchup vs. Kentucky
By Brian Rauf
Auburn basketball is looking to pick up their first signature victory of the season against Kentucky. Here are the biggest keys for the Tigers.
Auburn basketball has been one of the toughest teams to diagnose this season but, if you ask an Auburn fan, they’re also one of the most underrated.
They’re 15-0 start pushed them into the top five in the country, yet many vocal doubters remained as they hadn’t faced a ranked team. Then they dropped back-to-back road games against Alabama and Auburn and, while they’ve responded with a new three-game win streak, they haven’t played up to that caliber since.
The Tigers still haven’t faced a ranked team yet – that first opportunity will come on Saturday in a showcase game for the program against Kentucky. They’ll have a chance solidify their place at the top of the SEC and in the top 10/15 in the country with a win over the Wildcats, and that opportunity comes to them in front of their home crowd.
Kentucky is on a hot streak of their own having won four games in a row and eight of their last nine overall. However, they have looked vulnerable, particularly of late.
John Calipari’s squad trailed Vanderbilt – who is winless in the SEC – by double digits in the second half in their last outing. They also needed overtime to beat a Texas Tech team on the bubble in the game before that.
So, the Wildcats haven’t been playing their best, making them vulnerable to suffering a loss on the road – especially to a team as good as Auburn. But, of course, it’s going to be the toughest game the Tigers have played all season. Here are the three biggest keys to the game for Bruce Pearl’s squad: