The Auburn Tigers took on the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday afternoon. The Tigers traded blows with Kentucky throughout much of the first half. Unfortunately, Kentucky had an amazing shooting day and realized capitalized on their homecourt advantage. The Wildcats really ran away with it in the 2nd half. Here are a few takeaways from todays game.
In the first half, Auburn really hung in there until Kentucky went on an 8-0 run with around the 4 minute mark. Auburn played well early, but finished the half down 11. The main reason for this seemed to be shooting percentages. Kentucky shot the ball insanely well. They were 5-6 from three. They also shot 56% from the field. Conversely, Auburn was 3-11 from three, shooting only 34%. Shooting is not the Tigers strength, and they tend to have less offensive consistency on the road. Auburn will need to get hot from behind the arc if they are to make a run in the postseason.
The Tigers went to Jabari Smith in crunch time last year when they needed a bucket. Auburn doesn’t have many players who can create their own shot this year. Wendell Green Jr. is about their only desperation scorer, and he was off today. Green started at just 3-12 for 9 points. Auburn may look to the transfer portal and incoming 5 star freshman Aden Holloway for help in the scoring department next year.
The Tigers were out-rebounded today at a nearly 2 to 1 margin. This has been a problem for Auburn lately that needs to be fixed. Rebounding comes down to discipline and effort. Kentucky played incredibly well today. Shots were falling and their home crowd was a factor, but there’s never an excuse to rebound poorly.
We would be remiss if we did not discuss the moral ineptitude of the University of Alabama and all of their supporters. The Crimson Tide have found a new low and become a black eye on not just college basketball, but all of college sports. The playing of team members involved in a capital murder investigation has shown that Bama, from the top down, lacks integrity, lacks compassion for others, and just plain lacks self awareness. Everyone has that one person in their life that doesn’t seem to be aware of others existence. That person, for other fanbases, is Alabama. Their lack of compassion for the murder victim and her family is baffling. The situation is confusing but most of all sad. Jamea Jonae Harris’ family deserves better. College basketball deserves better. The world deserves better.
