KSR Gameday: Eye on the Tigers, Kentucky looks to upset Auburn

Good morning, Big Blue Nation, and welcome to another rendition of KSR Gameday, brought to you by your 10th favorite KSR writer. Okay, maybe 11th if you count BTI. In today’s episode, we will preview Kentucky’s trip down to the Plains as the Wildcats look to upset the red-hot Auburn Tigers on their home court, where they are seemingly unbeatable.

Kentucky enters the game on the wrong side of the scoreboard in five of their last 10 games, while Auburn is 13-0 at home and beating SEC opponents by an average of 27 points. Twenty. Seven.

With standing-room-only tickets going for north of $250, and students camping out for multiple days, expect a raucous crowd inside Neville Arena at tipoff.

To add to the baseline excitement, ESPN’s College GameDay crew will be on-site, broadcasting their show at a location that will feature Kentucky playing basketball for the second time this season. Cal is going to have to update his saying from, “Everyone has t-shirt day when we come to town,” to “Everyone gets ESPN GameDay when we come to town.” The atmosphere will undoubtedly be the most hostile environment these young Wildcats have faced all year.

While not a must-win, a victory today would showcase to the college basketball world that Kentucky is still Kentucky. It wouldn’t hurt their NCAA tournament resume either.

Strangely enough, it feels good to be the underdog. Let’s go beat Auburn.

How to Watch and Listen

No. 22 Kentucky (17-7) at No. 13 Auburn (20-5)
6 p.m. ET | Saturday, Feb. 16 | Neville Arena

• TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Jess Sims)
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 82 or SiriusXM App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

The Odds

Kentucky enters the game against Auburn as a huge underdog. Depending on which book you reference, the Tigers are somewhere between a 7.5 and 9.5-point favorite. FanDuel has the line at -8.5.

This puts this game in rarified air during the Calipari era. Kentucky opponents have only been favored by seven points or more nine times during the Cal era, most of which came in the last few years. The ‘Cats have won outright in just three of those matchups and hold a 5-4 record against the spread. Here they are:

2022-23 Regular Season: at Tennessee, 11 point underdog
RESULT: UK Wins Outright 63-56

2017-18 Regular Season: at West Virginia, 10.5 point underdog
RESULT: UK Wins Outright 83-76

2012-13 Regular Season: at Florida, 10 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 69-52, DOES NOT COVER

2017-18 Regular Season: at Auburn, 9.5 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 76-66, DOES NOT COVER

2013-14 Regular Season: at Florida, 9 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 84-65, DOES NOT COVER

2020-21 Regular Season: at Tennessee, 7.5 point underdog
RESULT: UK Wins Outright 70-55

2012-13 Regular Season: at Louisville, 7 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 80-77, COVERS

2020-21 Regular Season: at Alabama, 7 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 70-59, DOES NOT COVER

2023-24 Champions Classic: Kansas, 7 point underdog
RESULT: UK Loses 89-84, COVERS

The over-under in total points has been set at 163.5. Kentucky failed to hit the over in their last game against Ole Miss in part due to stellar defense. Let’s see if that holds against a much more formidable team in Auburn. They’re going to need it.

Kentucky players are excited to go to Auburn

This year started off fun. A lot of fun, as a matter of fact. Perhaps, in hindsight, all the fun went to everyone’s head, perhaps even some of the players. Now, everyone’s basketball egos have been brought back down to Earth as visions of net-cutting ceremonies in Phoenix have emphatically ceased all dancing. Now, after several helpings of humble pie, the Wildcats are no longer the hunted; they enter today’s game as the hunters.

Hey, hunters.

One of the most obvious areas where Kentucky seemed to flip a bit of a switch against Ole Miss was on the defensive side of the ball. The all-too-often nonchalant guarding haunted the ‘Cats all season, and opposing coaches noticed.

“People think it’s kind of a mystery, but it’s not. Young guys don’t know how to guard. In high school, they don’t have to guard. In grassroots, they don’t have to guard. The biggest thing is age, because obviously it’s not length and athleticism. It’s the fact that you got guys who are predominantly score-first and you don’t have the pieces to kind of offset that.”

Ultimately, Kentucky is entering this game with nothing to lose.

An assistant coach whose team has already torched Kentucky

Kentucky is entering the game with the mindset that all the pressure is on Auburn. With ESPN GameDay in town, it is up to the Tigers to defend their home court. Regardless, the ‘Cats will have to match the energy of the building.

“Crazy environment,” Freshman wing Justin Edwards said of what’s looking forward to. “I [have been] watching little highlights of their student section. Ain’t it right behind our bench, right? So just being prepared for that.”

“We [are] excited. I’m excited as well just knowing the type of environment we’re gonna play in and the type of team we’re gonna play against,” Freshman guard DJ Wagner said on Friday. “I feel like it’s gonna be fun and it’s gonna be a good game.”

The injury report

The injury report for today’s game is similar to every other game this season in that there is no injury report. Kentucky entered Tuesday’s matchup against Ole Miss with a fully available roster for the first time all season.

It lasted 23 minutes.

Tre Mitchell left the game with what is being called by certain whispers around the program a sprained trapezius muscle in his upper back. Mitchell was already dealing with a back issue going into the game, so this likely doesn’t help matters. That being said, it might force him to miss a few games and give him the necessary rest to heal up his body overall before postseason play begins.

While it is likely Mitchell will miss today’s game, the other lingering ailment plaguing a Kentucky starter is DJ Wagner’s ankle. That being said, according to Wagner, it is feeling better every day.

“It’s been good,” Wagner told reporters on Friday. “I’ve been getting as much treatment as possible, so it’s been good. After every game, after practice and stuff, I make sure I try to get as much treatment as I can. It’s been feeling good.”

Bruce Pearl is not overlooking Kentucky

Bruce Pearl and John Calipari go way back, and it is no surprise he is not discounting Kentucky. He was very complimentary of the Wildcats, calling out Antonio Reeves as a guy who has, “always killed us,” Rob Dillingham as a “one-man scoring machine, who scores like I breathe,” and Reed Sheppard as a, “dynamic point guard, great shooter, great playmaker, great patience and poise.”

He continued, “Kentucky is really good. They are one of the best offensive teams in the country…this is the best three-point shooting team that John Calipari’s had, in my opinion. There are three or four guys out there that if they can see it, they can make it. They are a really, really tough cover.”

Kentucky is taking over NBA All-Star Weekend

Seven. Count ’em. Seven former Kentucky players were voted into the NBA All-Star game this season, smashing the record for most players from the same school to be an All-Star in a single year. Unfortunately, only six will be able to take the floor as Julius Randle is sitting out with an injury, however, that is an unprecedented level of college representation. But wait. There’s more.

Kentucky will have a total of 13 former players involved in All-Star weekend, and the La Familia reunion kicked off Friday night with Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace putting on a show at the Rising Stars games. The highlight of the night, and perhaps as an omen for today’s game, Oscar Tshiebwe dunked all over former Auburn Tiger, Walker Kessler. I mean, put him on the proverbial poster.

Oscar Tshiebwe my GOODNESS 😱

Team Detlef vs. Team Jalen#PaniniRisingStars Final on TNT pic.twitter.com/TfGjVsYz3k

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2024

Oh, and here’s a better angle.

OSCAR TSHIEBWE JUST PUT WALKER KESSLER ON A T-SHIRT pic.twitter.com/gt4fKEYTys

— The House that Kami Built (@KamitronPTW) February 17, 2024

As for the rest of the All-Star festivities, Ashton Hagans, and Skal Labiessere led the voting to get into the G League Up Next game on Sunday, but all eyes will be on the Dunk Contest, 3-point Contest, and Skills Challenge Saturday, and Kentucky alumni will have a chance to win all of them.

Tyrese Maxey will vie for the NBA Skills Challenge trophy, Jacob Toppin will look to join his brother Obi and become the first pair of brothers to win the Slam Dunk Contest, and Karl-Anthony Towns will try to become the first Kentucky player to repeat as 3-point champion.

The party will kick off at 8:00 p.m. on TNT and will serve as a good way to celebrate a Kentucky victory over Auburn.

Hopefully.

Bush Hamdan thinks Kentucky is one of the best jobs in college football

Kentucky’s offensive coordinator position has been a revolving door for the last several years. Perhaps, the new OC Bush Hamdan will change that. The new signal caller made his media rounds over the last couple of days, and when speaking about longevity, Hamdan said, “There’s not many better jobs in football than his one. That’s my statement on it.”

Other tidbits about the new Wildcat coordinator include his preference for calling plays from the booth as opposed to the sidelines in part due to the access to unlimited coffee, how Washington head coach Chris Peterson played a huge role in his professional career, and after his SEC-sized raise, he is now officially rich.

Hamdan is saying all of the right things, but hopefully, he will forgive Big Blue Nation for being a little skeptical until he proves himself on the field.

Kentucky baseball kicks off the season with a win

The 2024 Kentucky Baseball season is officially underway. The Bat Cats reversed their fortunes from last season, as they came away with an 11-7 win in the season opener against USC-Upstate on Friday.

Grad transfers Nick Lopez (USC) and Ryan Nicholson (Cincinnati) were great in their Wildcat debuts, as they combined for five hits, three doubles, and 2 RBI. Freshman Griffin Cameron also had himself a nice debut in blue and white, notching a hit, a stolen base, and two runs scored.

Kentucky finished with 12 hits on the afternoon, as eight of their nine batters finished with at least 1 RBI. It was a great start to the season for the Wildcat bats.

Game two of the weekend series is scheduled for today at 2:00 p.m. EST.