No. 1 Auburn dismantles hobbled Kentucky, clinches share of SEC crown with first win at Rupp Arena since 1988

No. 1 Auburn clinched a share of the SEC title on Saturday in a 94-78 win over No. 17 Kentucky as the Tigers earned their first victory inside Rupp Arena since 1988. The Wildcats had won 20 straight at home against Auburn and were 51-2 all-time against the Tigers in Lexington before stumbling through a dispiriting outing.

Kentucky (19-10, 8-8) went nearly 10 minutes without a basket from the floor during a stretch spanning both halves, and its start to the second half was particularly disastrous. UK committed turnovers on six straight possessions to begin the half without even attempting a shot.

The Wildcats finished with a season-high 18 turnovers, leading to a 21-9 edge in points off turnovers for Auburn, which led by as much as 22 early in the second half. The Tigers (27-2, 15-1 SEC) will win the outright league title with a victory in either of their final two games or a loss from Alabama in any of its final three games. 

Auburn’s beatdown of UK came on a slow day for national player of the year candidate Johni Broome. The star center briefly left the game in the second half after appearing to injure his shoulder but returned and finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Miles Kelly stepped up with a season-high 30 points to compensate, including consecutive banked 3-pointers as the Tigers built a 13-point lead in the first six minutes. Chad Baker-Mazara contributed 22 for Auburn, and Tahaad Pettiford added 21 as the Tigers shot 51.8% from the floor.

Koby Brea led Kentucky with 21 points while Andrew Carr scored 20. The Wildcats tied a season-low with just four made 3-pointers, and all four of them came from Brea.

Hobbled Wildcats

On the heels of a legendary performance in UK’s win at Oklahoma — his former school — on Wednesday, Kentucky’s leading scorer Otega Oweh suffered through a rough outing. He logged just 11 minutes in the first half after picking up his third foul with three minutes remaining in the frame. Oweh finished with four points on 1 of 3 shooting.

Oweh’s struggles came as injury issues continued plaguing Kentucky. Second-leading scorer Jaxson Robinson was again unavailable for UK due to a lingering wrist injury. Robinson missed four games in February before returning for the Oklahoma win. However, he logged just 12 minutes in that contest and was ruled out of the Auburn game on Friday’s SEC availability report.

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler, who is dealing with a nagging left shoulder injury, played for a second consecutive game and logged 32 minutes — his most since Jan. 18 — while wearing a bulky brace. But his effectiveness continues to be limited as he finished with 15 points on 4 of 13 shooting with five turnovers and no assists.

Postseason implications

The win further cemented Auburn’s place as the projected No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as the Tigers are now 16-2 in Quad 1 games. Kentucky entered as a projected No. 3 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology and is now 9-9 in Quad 1.

Kentucky entered tied for seventh in the SEC standings. The Wildcats need to finish among the top eight in order to avoid playing on the first day of the SEC Tournament later this month. UK closes at home vs. lowly LSU and on the road against No. 14 Missouri. A 2-0 finish would almost assuredly keep the Wildcats out of Day 1 action, but a 1-1 finish could leave them vulnerable, depending on how teams such as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt fare down the stretch.