Auburn-Kentucky matchup set to make interesting SEC history

Saturday’s game between No. 2 Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky is the first matchup between top-12 teams in the 12-year history of Auburn Arena.

The Tigers are still getting used to being one of the country’s powerhouse programs, and fans can thank head coach Bruce Pearl for that. Sitting at No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25, many believe that Auburn is the rightful No. 1, but the voters submitted their ballots and it wasn’t in the cards for the Tigers this week.

If they want to jump Gonzaga in the polls, it starts Saturday against Kentucky.

Both teams come into Saturday’s matchup red-hot and are two of the hottest teams in the SEC. Kentucky in particular is coming off an impressive performance that saw them beat down rival and then-No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers 107-79 behind a 60-60-90 shooting performance, the first time that stat line has been accomplished in an SEC game in 25 seasons.

TyTy Washington is coming into his own and finally looking like the NBA prospect experts believed he was before the season, not to mention the National Player of the Year front-runner in Oscar Tshiebwe, who is currently on pace to average the first 15-point, 15-rebound season in modern college basketball history.

Take into account Kellan Grady‘s three-point shooting prowess, Davion Mintz‘s energy and Sahvir Wheeler‘s vision and speed—the Wildcats are playing as well as any team in the country right now.

That’s not to say Auburn isn’t, though. They received the most No. 1 AP votes this week for a reason.

Jabari Smith has impressed more and more each game and is on pace to beat out Duke’s Paolo Banchero and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren as the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Sprinkle in the seven-footer Walker Kessler‘s nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks per game, Tshiebwe will have his hands full on both sides of the court. Kessler recorded his only triple double of the season on Dec. 29 against then-No. 16 LSU that saw him score 16 points, haul in 10 boards and swat 11 shots in a 70-55 win at home.

With both teams playing at such a high level, it’s only right that the nation gear up, popcorn in hand to watch this heavyweight matchup live on CBS this Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.