Kentucky vs. Auburn ABC feed lost mid-game due to Rupp Arena technical difficulties

ABC experienced technical difficulties inside Rupp Arena during the second half of No. 1 Auburn‘s game against No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. And it left many fans searching for answers.

The game cut off mid-sequence and cut to a commercial. After a few minutes, ABC revealed the issues they were having and was working to get the game back on television.

KSR’s Matt Jones revealed that there is a “major technical issue” outside of Rupp Arena that included the ABC broadcasting truck. It has reportedly “lost all power,” and that they are “trying to find backup power now.” However, they are unsure if it will be restored before the game’s conclusion.

Kentucky Athletics released a statement via social media noting that they are aware of the situation.

“We’re aware of the technical difficulties ABC is experiencing broadcasting today’s @kentuckymbb game They’re working to restore the broadcast as soon as possible.”

The broadcast stopped with 12:25 left in the second half as Auburn’s Johni Broome attempted a layup with the Tigers leading the Wildcats 68-52.

LEX18 reporter Jennifer Palumbo noted that the officials said that they’re unable to go to the monitor to review calls because the replay is out. She also posted a picture of commentators for the game, Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas, sitting as spectators. Shulman still had his headset on well after the broadcast went out.

The bad new is that the ABC truck has lost power, and the game isn’t on TV.
The good news is that a ref just said that they can’t do official reviews because the monitors are out.
Not much for @DShulman_ESPN and @JayBilas to do. pic.twitter.com/5CPfYmgYYA

— Jennifer Palumbo (@JenNimePalumbo) March 1, 2025

Kentucky fans were still able to head over to the UK Sports Network and listen to the radio call from Tom Leach and Goose Givens for the final stretch of the game.

ABC eventually moved ahead with the NHL regular season matchup between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. Auburn would eventually defeat Kentucky 94-78 with the only spectators being the ones inside Rupp Arena.

Broome was held to just nine points and six rebounds during the contest, but it was the trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford that scored 73 points on their own — five points shy of Kentucky’s entire scoring total.

The win improves Auburn to 27-2 overall, and 15-1 in SEC play. The Tigers will next travel to No. 12 Texas A&M for a Tuesday night matchup in College Station. They will round out their regular season at home against No. 6 Alabama.

For Kentucky, the Wildcats suffered their 10th loss of the season to Auburn. They’ll host unranked LSU on Tuesday night and finish the regular season on the road at No. 14 Missouri.