Kentucky puts together first complete game in statement win at Auburn

The stage was set for Auburn dating back to Wednesday night. South Carolina entered Neville Arena and left with a 40-point curb-stomping, Tiger fans immediately leaving to set up their campsites in Pearlville with tents stretching across campus. They brought out food trucks, played Mario Kart on massive projector screens, set up poker tables and portable basketball hoops — a 72-hour celebration for the tailgate of all tailgates. It was time for their Super Bowl, an opportunity to tell the college basketball world the SEC’s king had been dethroned.

College GameDay got the day started with a line wrapped around the building, fans pouring in with goofy “KenSucky” signs to — in their eyes — set the tone. Then they did the same that afternoon, packed in shoulder to shoulder from baseline to baseline, ready to create an all-time atmosphere they’d tell their grandchildren about one day. Three days of preparation leading up to this moment.

And then Kentucky led essentially from the opening tip to the final buzzer — 38:39 with the Cats in front, 1:21 with the game tied. Not a single second with Auburn ahead.

Kentucky silences an all-time environment

Arguably the most hostile environment in college basketball, a venue that held the longest home winning streak in the SEC at 16 straight games was dead silent. Fans hit the exits as quickly as they rushed to fill the seats with a minute and change left on the clock. Disbelief. Frustration. Confusion.

You heard whispers of gripes directed toward the officials, Bruce Pearl doubling down in his presser by saying he’d be sending a few clips to the league in search of answers — hilarious considering Auburn was called for fewer fouls (23-16) and took more free throws (30-24). Some wondered aloud if Jaylin Williams’ knee injury impacted the final result, taking the wind out of the team’s sails with the game still within reach. I mean, maybe, but even that argument seems shallow considering he had racked up three points on 1-5 shooting, one assist, one steal and one turnover in the 24 minutes up to that point. He’s invaluable to that team, but was he closing the gap in a game Kentucky led by as many as 16? Unlikely. The Tigers also missed some open looks that could have swung the momentum as a team. Plenty of finger-pointing there, obviously.

Go down the list, you can find plenty of excuses for the how and why. But that’s basketball. The what isn’t changing, and that’s all that matters.

Championship-level basketball

At the end of the day, Kentucky controlled the game against an opponent that ranked inside the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, undoubtedly one of the hottest teams in the SEC that the analytics loved. It went on the road as a heavy underdog playing without its straw that stirs the drink in Tre Mitchell and held Auburn to 59 points on 30.9% shooting and 18.2% from three. The Cats found themselves in a five-point game twice midway through the second half, only to see Antonio Reeves score 13 in a six-minute stretch to push it back to 16 and ice the win. Only to see Adou Thiero elevate to the rafters and throw down soul-capturing slams to keep the crowd at bay. It was the team’s most complete performance of the year by a mile, putting together 40 minutes of the championship-level basketball this team had shown it was capable of in spurts, but never consistently.

It didn’t take a herculean individual effort — Reeves was brilliant, but still *only* scored 22 on 8-20 shooting — to steal the win. This wasn’t a ‘just not our day’ game for Auburn. Kentucky simply dug in defensively to come up with stops and hit big shots in big moments. They fought and rallied the way you’d hope they would in the middle of a March Madness run. When John Calipari says this team is “built for March,” it’s pretty clear this is the vision.

Finding the blueprint

So much has been made about opposing teams finding the blueprint on how to slow this group down offensively while continuing to expose its defensive flaws. Then Kentucky went and found its own blueprint for beating anybody in college basketball. That is their blueprint for No. 9.

“Kentucky can guard and they can turn it up when they want to. They outplayed us tonight. They played really well,” Bruce Pearl said after the game. “We knew their guards were excellent, and late in the game, when it came down to just getting decent shots and keeping us at bay, they were able to do that.”

The Wildcats opened the game with their best start in recent memory, leading 11-2 over five minutes in. When it got down to four, they responded to push it back to ten a little over a minute later. Back down to five, up to 12 a little over a minute later before closing out the half up 10. Worried about the post-half start? Don’t be. They got it to 14 in a minute yet again. As the waves of momentum kept crashing in, Kentucky rode them all back to shore unscathed. Responses for every jab and haymaker attempt Auburn looked to throw, refusing to let go of the rope. Made free throws, turning bad turnovers into stops on the other end, tough rebounds to limit second-chance opportunities, everything. They played with guts, something you haven’t always been able to say about this team.

“Kentucky disrupted us. Their length at the rim obviously disrupted us. Their ball pressure disrupted us. They had a good scout,” Pearl added. “I really think you just go ‘Alright, Kentucky guards like this, they can beat anybody.’ But we know that. … They played well and we didn’t, that’s why we got beat.”

“Held a top-10 team to 30 percent and 18?” Calipari said. “I don’t know, guess we could do better.”

Confidence, not desperation

Kentucky was desperate for a statement victory, but it’s hard to say the Cats played with desperation. They were confident, ready to prove naysayers wrong. Coach Cal made that abundantly clear after the win, throwing the press room door open looking to take media members out one at a time like a sniper at the podium. Everyone in that locker room walked in with little doubt they’d leave with a win.

The Cats are back on track, building back some trust lost in recent weeks. They went to Auburn and left proving this team is more than its record may show and the ceiling is unlike anyone else in college basketball. They’ve got dudes, and now, they’re slowly starting to prove that’s not just on one end. The offensive firepower has always been there and will continue to be, but if the defense can resemble anything close to this down the home stretch of the regular season and into postseason action?

Look out.