How No. 22 Kentucky and No. 13 Auburn match up — with a game prediction

How the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (17-7, 7-4 SEC) and the No. 13 Auburn Tigers (20-5, 9-3 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s men’s SEC basketball game at Neville Arena — with a game prediction:

Small forward

▪ Kentucky’s Justin Edwards (8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg; 20 assists vs. 21 turnovers; 44.8% FGs, 28.6% treys, 75.7% FTs) is showing signs of a late-season uptick. Three games back, the 6-foot-8, 203-pound Philadelphia product had a season-high 17 points in UK’s win at Vanderbilt. He followed that with eight points, five rebounds and a crucial late defensive play that gained possession for Kentucky in the home loss to Gonzaga. In the Cats’ 75-63 win over Mississippi on Tuesday night, Edwards had 12 points, two rebounds and two steals.

▪ Auburn’s Chris Moore (2.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg; 21 assists vs. 14 turnovers; 38% FGs, 16.7% treys, 78.9% FTs) has not made more than one field goal in a game since scoring six points in a win over Chattanooga on Dec. 30. The 6-6, 220-pound senior from West Memphis, Arkansas, averages only 14.4 minutes a game. Moore is valued for his defensive versatility. He has eight steals and 10 blocked shots.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Power forward

▪ Kentucky’s Adou Thiero (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg; 17 assists vs. 10 turnovers; 48.2% FGs, 35.7% treys, 77.5% FTs) has averaged eight points and five rebounds over UK’s past four games. The 6-8, 227-pound product of Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, was one of the Wildcats’ best players in the 89-85 loss to Gonzaga last Saturday, going for 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and a steal. In last season’s 86-54 Kentucky win over Auburn at Rupp Arena, Thiero came off the bench to score three points, claim two rebounds and make a steal in 10 minutes.

▪ Auburn’s Jaylin Williams (13.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg; 48 assists vs. 29 turnovers; 59% FGs, 42.% treys, 81.8% FTs) had a massive offensive showing in the Tigers’ 101-61 demolition of No. 11 South Carolina on Wednesday night. The 6-8, 245-pound super-senior made 8 of 11 shots, 5 of 7 treys, en route to a team-high 23 points vs. the Gamecocks. It was the second offensive outburst vs. a ranked foe in three games for the Nahunta, Georgia, product. Williams had 26 points in a 99-81 win over then-No. 16 Alabama on Feb. 7. Last season vs. Kentucky, Williams had a team-high 13 points.

Advantage: Auburn.

Center

▪ Kentucky sophomore Ugonna Onyenso (4.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg; team-high 48 blocked shots; 54.8% FGs, 60% FTs) tied the Rupp Arena record with 10 blocked shots in UK’s win over Ole Miss. The 7-foot, 247-pound sophomore from Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, has blocked 28 shots over UK’s past six games. Onyenso went 3-of-3 on field-goal attempts and scored eight points vs. Mississippi. It was the first time in four games in which he scored more than one field goal.

▪ After playing his first two seasons at Morehead State, Auburn’s Johni Broome (16.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.4 blocks a game; 48 assists vs. 38 turnovers; 55.4% FGs, 38.5% treys, 60.2% FTs) is starring in his second season at Auburn. After scoring 21 points in the blowout win over South Carolina, the 6-10, 240-pound product of Plant City, Florida, has now scored in double figures in 15 straight games. With 57 blocked shots, Broome is second in the SEC and 11th in the country in blocks. Broome had 12 points, one rebound and one assist in the loss to UK last season.

Advantage: Auburn.

Shooting guard

▪ Since making 6 of 9 treys in Kentucky’s 109-77 rout at Vanderbilt on Feb. 6, Antonio Reeves (team-high 19.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg; 38 assists vs. 31 turnovers; 49.8% FGs, 43.7% treys, 88.1% FTs) has made only 2 of 7 3-point shot attempts in the two games since. The 6-6, 195-pound super-senior from Chicago has scored in double figures in every game but one this season — he had nine points in Kentucky’s win over then-No. 9 North Carolina in December. With 954 points in his two seasons at UK, Reeves, a transfer from Illinois State, needs 46 points to join Kentucky’s 1,000-points club.

▪ Auburn’s Denver Jones (7.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg; 35 assists vs. 22 turnovers; 39.7% FGs, 36.3% treys, 90.6% FTs) has scored in double figures in three of the Tigers’ past five games. The 6-4, 205-pound junior from New Market, Alabama, had seven points in the win over South Carolina. A transfer from Florida International, Jones is 3-of-9 on 3-point shots over Auburn’s prior four games.

Advantage: Kentucky.

Point guard

▪ Kentucky’s D.J. Wagner (11.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg; 72 assists vs. 30 turnovers; 42.8% FGs, 29.5% treys, 70.@% FTs) returned to the starting lineup in the win over Ole Miss and had four points and four assists in 18 minutes. The 6-4, 192-pound freshman from Camden, New Jersey, missed what became home losses to Florida and Tennessee and the road win at Vanderbilt due to an ankle injury. Wagner has not scored in double figures since having 18 points in UK’s 105-96 win over Georgia on Jan. 20.

▪ Auburn’s Aden Holloway (8.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg; 73 assists vs. 22 turnovers; 30.7% FGs, 30.3% treys, 76.1% FTs) has not scored in double figures since Jan. 17 and has not hit 50 percent of his shots in a game since Dec. 17. A 6-1, 178-pound freshman from Charlotte, North Carolina, Holloway was the No. 29-ranked player in the Rivals 150 for the class of 2023 and played in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Advantage: Even.

Bench

▪ Kentucky freshmen guards Reed Sheppard (12.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg; team-high 100 assists vs. 44 turnovers; team-high 60 steals; 52.9% FGs, 51.9% treys, 80.8% FTs) and Rob Dillingham (14.8 ppg, 3 rpg; 93 assists vs. 42 turnovers; 48.6% FGs, 44.7% treys, 75% FTS) are probably the two most-productive players coming off the bench for any team in America. ... The 6-3, 187-pound Sheppard, a North Laurel High School product, has scored in double figures in five of UK’s past six games. ... The 6-2, 176-pound Dillingham, a Hickory, North Carolina, product, has also had 10 points or more in five of the past six contests. ... After missing two games due to a back injury, Tre Mitchell (12 ppg, 7.5 rpg; 68 assists vs. 30 turnovers; 49.7% FGs, 33.3% treys; 73.1% FTs) returned and had five points, six rebounds and two assists in the win over Ole Miss. The 6-9, 231-pound super-senior left the game early in the second half, however, with an apparent left shoulder injury. His status for Saturday is unclear. ... A 7-1, 226-pound freshman, Aaron Bradshaw (5.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg; four assists vs. six turnovers; 55.6% FGs, 25% treys, 56.7% FTs) had four points, two rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes vs. Mississippi.

▪ Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (9.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg; 54 assists vs. 24 turnvoers; 44.3% FGs, 40.3% treys, 86.1% FTs) came up huge in the win over South Carolina. The 6-7, 180-pound junior hit 4 of 4 shots, 2 of 2 treys, and had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes. ... K.D. Johnson (7.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, team-high 34 steals; 33 assists vs. 21 turnovers; 39.2% FGs, 27.9% treys, 77.9% FTs) had nine points and three steals vs. South Carolina. In Auburn’s last 10 games, the 6-foot, 190-pound senior is 5-of-25 on 3-point shots. ... Tre Donaldson (7.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg; team-high 87 assists vs. 38 turnovers; 50% FGs, 38% treys, 89.3% FTs) had 11 points, four assists and no turnovers vs. South Carolina. The 6-3, 200-pound sophomore from Tallahassee, Florida, played his high school basketball for coach Charlie Ward, the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner and ex-NBA player. ... A 6-11, 255-pound senior, Dylan Cardwell (5.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg; 28 assists vs. 18 turnovers; 68.5% FGs, 68.3% FTs) had eight points, five assists and four blocks in the win over South Carolina. ... A 6-7, 220-pound junior, Chaney Johnson (4 ppg, 3.5 rpg; 14 assists vs. 21 turnovers; 48.2% FGs, 19% treys, 75% FTs) has made a combined 5 of 7 shots in the past two games.

Advantage: Even.

Intangibles and history

▪ Kentucky leads the all-time series with Auburn 97-23 but the Tigers have won four of the past seven meetings.

▪ As UK head man, John Calipari is 14-6 against Auburn.

▪ Tigers coach Bruce Pearl is 5-7 vs. the Wildcats as Auburn head man and is 10-17 overall vs. UK.

▪ The Tigers are unbeaten (12-0) at Neville Arena this season and have gone 42-2 at home over the past three years.

▪ Kentucky has lost three games in a row and five of its last six at Auburn.

Advantage: Auburn.

Prediction

Auburn 83, Kentucky 79.

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