Cason Wallace expected ‘hard-nosed’ effort from Auburn but saw them ‘drop their heads’

Auburn has been one of the SEC’s most competitive programs over the last six seasons Bruce Pearl. However, Kentucky guard Cason Wallace brought the Tiger’s effort into question with what he said about their second-half effort during a blowout loss in Lexington.

Wallace said he was expecting ‘hard-nosed’ play from Auburn all throughout the game. However, after the Wildcats ran them off the floor in the second half in the 86-54 rout, he said you could physically see them let go of the rope out on the floor.

“This is my first time playing them so it was a surprise to me,” Wallace said. “I thought it was going to be hard-nosed the whole game but, once we went on our run in the second half, I saw they started to slow down and drop their heads.”

Ouch. However, you can’t blame Wallace for feeling that way with how the final 20 minutes played out.

Before the last two minutes of the first half, Kentucky’s lead was never more than a possession or two away. From there, though, the Wildcats closed on an 8-1 run to take an 11-point lead into the half. That avalanche then rolled through the entire second half as UK outscored the Tigers by 21 as they shot 56.7% from the field, 42.9% from three, and 100% from the foul line.

It felt as though Wallace and Kentucky could do no wrong and, in comparison, Auburn could do no right. Now, as they enter the final week of conference play, it’s on the Wildcats to keep their momentum going after their fourth straight while it’s on the Tigers to rediscover some of their mojo after dropping their seventh of their last ten in brutal fashion.

Oscar Tshiebwe echoes Calipari’s message on ‘refusing to lose’

John Calipari’s team heard the rumors of their demise, and Oscar Tshiebwe and the rest of the Kentucky Wildcats are proving them false.

After a victory over Auburn on Saturday, it’s evident the Wildcats are re-energized and peaking at the right time. Speaking after a 22-point performance against the Tigers, Tshiebwe spoke regarding echoing his coach’s never say die attitude.

“We’ve got a lot of energy. We’ve got a lot of energy,” began Tshiebwe. “See what we’re doing right now? Everybody. We just refuse to lose. Like Coach always said. We’re not losing anymore. I told him, we’re not going to lose. We are not going to lose anymore. If we lose, it’s like for us, we’re not losing, we just run out of time, as Coach has said. If you give us two more minutes, we’re going to win a game.

“Right now, we’re just going to keep persevering. Fight. The energy you see today? You’re going to see again on Wednesday,” Tshiebwe said. “You’re going to see again against Arkansas. We’re locked in right now. We’re just so excited. I can’t wait to see what God is about to do for us.”

As Tshiebwe mentioned, Kentucky will round out its regular season with its home finale against Vanderbilt on Wednesday before traveling to Arkansas on Saturday. However, if the last couple games are any indication, any program facing Tshiebwe and company is in for a rough day at the office.