Bruce Pearl on Rob Dillingham: 'He scores like I breathe.'

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is always good for a fun quote or two whenever he sits down to talk. During his pregame press conference ahead of the Tigers’ showdown against Kentucky this weekend, his comment on freshman Rob Dillingham stuck out the most.

“Dillingham is a one-man scoring machine,” Pearl said on Friday. “He scores like I breathe. He’s a very, very dangerous microwave type of a player.”

That’s about as perfect of a way to describe Dillingham as one can put it. When the microwave is turned on, there’s no stopping the shifty shotmaker from catching fire. Dillingham has scored in double-digits in all but four games this season. Five times has he hit the 20-point mark, highlighted by his incredible 35-point outburst against Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. His three-pointers come in bunches and his soft touch around the rim is even tougher to defend.

It only takes one made shot for Dillingham’s eyes to grow wider than the court he’s playing on.

It’s not just Dillingham who’s prone to popping off though. Pearl touched on the other three primary guards on Kentucky’s roster and what dangers they pose to his Auburn Tigers when the two teams meet on Saturday night.

“(Antonio) Reeves has always killed us. He’s always killed us,” Pearl said. “He’s a big, big, long, physical guard. Really shoots it. He’s improved his float game, his midrange game. (Reed) Sheppard leads the league in steals. He’s a dynamic point guard, great shooter, great playmaker, has great patience and poise, already a Kentucky favorite.

“(DJ) Wagner — all those guys I just mentioned, Wagner may be the highest ranked as far as the pros are concerned. They’re really talented, they’re really big. That’s why they’re at Kentucky.”

Kentucky will have the backcourt advantage over Auburn this weekend (the frontcourt is a different story). UK’s quartet of Dillingham, Reeves, Sheppard, and Wagner is arguably the best in all of college basketball. Just check out their shooting numbers against SEC competition this season.

• Dillingham (10 GP): 16.3 PPG | 51.3 FG%, 43.4 3PT%, 74.1 FT%
• Reeves (11 GP): 20.1 PPG | 47.9 FG%, 40.9 3PT%, 92.7 FT%
• Sheppard (11 GP): 11.5 PPG | 47.1 FG%, 51.0 3PT%, 70.4 FT%
• Wagner (8 GP): 11.1 PPG | 45.5 FG%, 30 3PT%, 68.4 FT%

We can even chalk up Wagner’s numbers (which aren’t “bad” by any means, but not up to par with his teammates) to his nagging ankle injury. But even if Wagner’s shot isn’t falling, there are plenty of other Wildcats who can step up in his place. There is no shortage of points with this group.

“This is the best three-point shooting team that John Calipari has had, in my opinion,” Pearl added. “There’s about three or four guys out there that if they can see it, they can make it. Making them a really, really tough cover.”

Auburn is used to tough covers though. The Tigers currently rank fourth in all of college basketball on defense, per KenPom. Opponents are shooting just 29.8 percent from deep against Pearl’s squad this season, a top 20 mark in the country. But shutting down Kentucky’s three-point shooting (third-best in Divison I hoops at 40.7 percent) will be Auburn’s toughest test yet.

Tipoff between Kentucky and Auburn is set for 6:00 p.m. EST tomorrow night on ESPN.