FINAL: No. 22 Kentucky upsets No. 13 Auburn 70-59 in defensive battle on the road

Without a doubt, this was Kentucky’s biggest conference win of the season so far.

On Saturday night in the Plains, the No. 22 Wildcats (18-7; 8-4 SEC) upset the No. 13 Auburn Tigers (20-6; 9-4 SEC) in a defensive rock fight, winning by a final score of 70-59. Kentucky never trailed in this one, building off a hot start and silencing a deafening Neville Arena down the stretch. This was Auburn’s first home loss of the season and UK’s first on the road against the Tigers since 2019.

It was Antonio Reeves who powered Kentucky on offense, pouring in a game-high 22 points, 13 of them coming in the second half. Adou Thiero also hit double-figures, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Rob Dillingham chipped in 11 points, which all came in the first half. Ugonna Onyenso added seven points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, Kentucky shot 44.4 percent from the field, 4-13 from deep, and a critical 75 percent (18-24) from the free-throw line. The ‘Cats scored 13 more points off turnovers and added 10 more points in the paint. UK held Auburn to a 30.9 percent mark from the field and a poor 4-22 clip from long range.

For the second straight game, Kentucky avoided a slow start offensively. Granted, Auburn opened the game by missing several clean looks, but the Wildcats were also clearly locked in on the defensive end. A quick 11-2 lead for UK out of the gate quieted the Tigers’ rambunctious student section.

Kentucky remained aggressive from there. Reeves drilled a contested three-pointer in transition to make it an 18-9 advantage at the second TV timeout. The ‘Cats even got a goaltending call to go their way, too. Everything was working early on for John Calipari’s team.

Back-to-back and-one finishes at the rim for Thiero extended UK’s lead to double-digits, 27-15, with roughly five minutes until the break. Auburn would trim the deficit down to as few as five points soon after, but another triple from Reeves followed by six straight from Dillingham pushed Kentucky back to a comfortable advantage. At the break, UK led 39-29.

Dillingham led the way after 20 minutes with 11 points while Reeves wasn’t far behind with nine. Thiero had six points and five rebounds while Onyenso was up to three points, six rebounds, and a block. Meanwhile, Auburn shot just 28.1 percent from the field in the first half, including a 3-12 mark from distance. UK has 15 points off turnovers compared to zero for the Tigers.

Out of the locker room, Kentucky scored four quick points to go ahead by 14 points. But Auburn would settle in on defense and began to step up the physicality. Fouls were being called non-stop on both ends. The Tigers fed off the energy in the building and cut the UK lead all the way down to five on multiple occasions. At the second media timeout, the ‘Cats were clinging to a 49-44 lead.

That timeout was needed though. Kentucky punched right back, rattling off a 9-2 run — seven coming from Reeves over the next few minutes. Just like that, UK was back in front by 12. A couple of free throws from Wagner made it a 14-point edge. Reeves kept scoring too, finding a pair of buckets inside the arc. With under six minutes in regulation, Kentucky controlled the momentum and held a 64-48 lead.

Auburn didn’t go away though. Six straight points from the Tigers made it a 10-point game with 3:10 to go. Calipari then called a timeout to prevent a turnover. Auburn even got a pair of freebies to make it a single-digit affair before Reed Sheppard (who recorded five steals for the fourth time this season) found a cutting Thiero with a beautiful pass for a slam the next time down.

All Kentucky had to do from there was ice the game, and that’s exactly what they did. Auburn failed to make a field goal for the final 3:30 of action.

Up next: Kentucky will stay on the road as the Wildcats head to Baton Rouge for a showdown against the LSU Tigers (13-12; 5-7 SEC). Tipoff is set for Tuesday, February 21 at 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.