Auburn beat Kentucky on Saturday, but who will be the better team come March?
The SEC’s top two basketball teams played Saturday. Auburn had the upper hand, winning 80-71. Kentucky had legitimate excuses.
TyTy Washington missed the final 28 minutes with an ankle injury. He is UK’s second-leading scorer. His running mate, point guard Sahvir Wheeler, missed a key stretch after being floored by an Auburn screen. Add this: Kentucky was playing in a hostile arena against what might be the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 come Monday.
“Even with that, it was a winnable game,” UK guard Kellan Grady said afterward. “I think we should have won the game.”
They didn’t. Auburn shot 56.8 percent, the highest percentage by a UK opponent this season. Walker Kessler, the Tigers 7-foot-1 center, made eight of 10 shots. Seven were dunks. Four came off lob passes. Former EKU star Wendell Green Jr. made key plays. And Auburn’s Jabari Smith showed flashes of being the best freshman in the country, just as the Tigers showed they were the better team Saturday.
Next question: Who will be the better team in March?
Alas, Saturday was the lone scheduled regular-season meeting between the two. The hope is we’re blessed with Cats vs. Tigers on a neutral floor in the SEC Tournament in Tampa. And/or the NCAA Tournament after that. The losers are itching for a rematch.
“We hope to see them again,” Grady said.
“I don’t think they’re better than us, in my opinion,” UK center Oscar Tshiebwe said. “I think we’re going to beat them. I want to play them again.”
No doubt Kentucky missed Washington’s normal 31 minutes on the floor on Saturday. John Calipari did not have a health update on the 6-3 guard during the UK coach’s postgame Zoom session. He did say Washington is a playmaker, the rare freshman rarely in a rush. “We don’t have those guys,” Calipari said.
Is that enough for UK to beat Auburn? That’s far from a given. The Tigers are terrific, after all. (“Texas A&M is a good team; Auburn is a great team,” Grady said.) Love him or hate him, Bruce Pearl knows what he’s doing. He knows how to build and promote a program. The 2021-22 Tigers might be the deepest, most talented collection Pearl has put on the floor.
Underline the word depth. Auburn’s bench outscored UK’s 20-11 Saturday. With Zep Jasper and K.D. Johnson starting at guard, Pearl brings Green off the bench. Yet the 5-11 sophomore from Detroit played 29 minutes against Kentucky. He entered the game averaging 15.8 points and 4.7 assists in SEC play. He had 11 points and five assists. Reserves Jaylin Williams (seven points), Devan Cambridge and Dylan Cardwell made solid contributions.
Would Shaedon Sharpe help UK’s depth? Sharpe is the hot topic of speculation. The 6-3 guard was the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2022 before exiting high school a year early. He has only been on UK’s campus for a couple of weeks, however. The plan was for Sharpe to acclimate this year and play next season. Then came word the 18-year-old Canadian is in fact eligible for this summer’s NBA Draft.
While not ruling out Sharpe playing this season, Calipari said this Saturday, “I’ve told his parents I’m not going to put him a position where he hurts himself.”
That doesn’t sit well with the we-want-banners faction of Big Blue Nation, but Calipari is correct. It is of no benefit to either party to play Sharpe before he’s ready. What message does that send to future recruits? And 19 games into the season, what would Sharpe’s presence on the floor do to Kentucky’s chemistry, one that has been key to this team’s success?
After all, despite Saturday’s L, this is a good Kentucky team with a chance to be even better. Grady, Wheeler and Tshiebwe might all have college hoops experience, but this is their first year together. What we do know is that these Cats need to be healthy to beat the best teams in the league and the country.
Again: Is that enough to beat Auburn? Here’s hoping for Round 2. If so, I like Kentucky’s chances.
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Box score from Kentucky basketball’s 80-71 loss at second-ranked Auburn
Kentucky-Auburn, Part 2? ‘We hope to see them again,’ Kellan Grady says
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