KSR Staff Predictions: No. 1 Auburn at No. 17 Kentucky

For the first time in six years, the No. 1 team in the country is traveling to Rupp Arena. John Calipari’s Cats took care of business against top-ranked Tennessee. Mark Pope has already set a Kentucky record with seven wins this season over Top 15 teams. Can he add a win over No. 1 to his impressive resume? The KSR crew predicts Saturday’s showdown between Kentucky and Auburn.

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Nick Roush

Auburn is the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. Bruce Pearl’s team does a lot of things well. What makes them such a hard out is that they can win in multiple ways.

Similar to John Calipari’s Kentucky teams, Auburn does not dictate the style of the game. If their opponent wants to slow things down to try to grind out a win, that’s fine. If it calls for an up-and-down game, they’ll run the floor and beat you that way too.

Kentucky does not appear to have a decisive advantage in style, scheme, or athleticism. The Cats can get hot from three-point land, but Auburn has the eleventh-ranked three-point defense in the country. Their length poses problems. To pull off the upset, Kentucky has to go +12 or +15 from three-point land, and even that might not be enough.

Score: Auburn 91, Kentucky 84

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Jacob Polacheck

Auburn is an incredibly well-rounded team without many weaknesses. It’ll take a near-perfect performance from Kentucky to pull off the upset.

This is a significant game for Auburn with a chance to clinch an SEC regular season title on the line. That’s not to mention the money on Auburn’s back, having not won at Rupp Arena since 1988.

If Kentucky is able to win this, they’ll have to hit a lot of threes and find a way to penetrate Auburn’s elite defense. For now, I’m sticking with the nation’s No. 1 team to take care of business.

Score: Auburn 88, Kentucky 81

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Tyler Thompson

The head says Auburn. Of course it does. The Tigers have been dominant this season, only slipping up twice, once vs. Duke in December and again vs. Florida three weeks ago. It’s hard to find any flaws with Auburn, especially after Wednesday’s 30-point rout vs. Ole Miss in which the Tigers looked every inch a national championship favorite, scoring 1.49 points per possession.

Bruce Pearl has only won in Rupp Arena once and that was in his first try as Tennessee’s coach back in 2006. Pearl would love nothing more than to get his second with his best Auburn team yet and snap the Tigers’ 37-year losing streak in Lexington.

Also helping the head’s case: injuries. Kentucky got Lamont Butler back vs. Oklahoma but Jaxson Robinson’s wrist did not hold up in his return to action, leading him to sit out the second half. On a more minor level, Amari Williams also rolled his ankle vs. the Sooners. He’s more likely than Robinson to play on Saturday, which could be the difference in the game. Upsetting Auburn without Williams would be very, very tough.

But then there’s the heart. This Kentucky team has been its best when the chips are stacked against them, as evidenced by a 7-2 record vs. Top 15 foes. Otega Oweh carried the Cats to victory in Norman. Kentucky will need superhuman performance from just about everyone if Robinson is out. Without Williams? Forget about it. For the Cats to pull this one off, they’ll need to hit a ton of threes and play their best defense of the season against the nation’s No. 1 team in front of a deafening Rupp Arena crowd.

Everything is pointing to Auburn, but games like this are what make it fun to be a fan, so I’m going with the heart.

Score: Kentucky 88, Auburn 85

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Drew Franklin

I’ve picked against Kentucky more than I typically care to this season. At least four times in SEC play, I’ve sided with the other team in KSR’s predictions for a Kentucky Basketball game.

This is not one of those instances. I think the Wildcats will pull off the upset of No. 1 Auburn in Rupp Arena on Saturday, extending Mark Pope’s record of regular-season wins against ranked teams. The Tigers may be the betting favorite and the best team in college basketball, but the Rupp atmosphere will be too much for Auburn to overcome.

Lamont Butler will play a key role in defending home court, where Auburn hasn’t won since upsetting No. 1 Kentucky in 1988. Amari Williams and the new-look Brandon Garrison will also step up in the frontcourt against Auburn’s Broome, arguably the best player in the country. Kobe Brea? He loves playing in Rupp and will lead the offense, plus whatever Jaxson Robinson can give with his injured wrist and another strong Otega Oweh game attacking the rim.

Cats win and send a statement to the rest of college basketball with the postseason right around the corner.

Score: Kentucky 86, Auburn 83

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Jack Pilgrim

I’ve been the eternal optimist with this Kentucky team and I can’t quit these guys just yet — not when the Wildcats are somewhat back to full strength, minus some bumps and bruises in the road win at Oklahoma. I’m leaning on Big Blue Nation to put on a show in the last big-time home matchup at Rupp Arena this season, making the difference in a game where shots are made and defensive strides continue.

Auburn has had very few slip-ups this season because they’re the best team in college basketball. They’ve got No. 1 seeds all but locked up in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments while Kentucky has plenty more to play for, fighting for a bye to avoid a Wednesday start in Nashville. This would all but lock that up for the Cats, and I think they do it. Like this team manages to do — somehow, some way.

Score: Kentucky 85, Auburn 81

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Zack Geoghegan

Auburn statistically has the best offense in all of college basketball. The scarier part? The Tigers are equally as good on defense. There are veterans spread all across the roster; Tahaad Pettiford a sneakily good freshman guard, too. Bruce Pearl sticks to a tight seven-man rotation. Auburn doesn’t allow many three-pointers and is even better at forcing those shots into misses. A path to victory will be tough for a still-hobbled Kentucky team.

Which is why I’m going to pick against the Wildcats…

But in an effort to not sound redundant, there is a subplot in this game I’m very interested in watching: how does Amari Williams — still battling the ankle injury he suffered against Oklahoma, according to Pope — perform against Johni Broome? These two centers are the top choices at their position for All-SEC spots. Broome is a top two NPOY candidate. Williams has been playing excellent basketball as of late and is clearly hitting a groove, but he hasn’t faced anyone as talented as Broome yet. The winner of that one-on-one matchup will have an edge when it comes to the final outcome. It should be a fun battle.

Score: Auburn 93, Kentucky 87

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Adam Luckett

Auburn is the best team in college basketball. Bruce Pearl’s squad has a great chance to win six games and cut down the nets in the NCAA Tournament.

But these are the matchups that this Kentucky team has performed well in. The Wildcats have been outstanding against ranked teams all season.

Auburn has not lost an SEC road game yet but this figures to be one of their toughest challenges of the season. It will take one of their best performances of the year but this feels like a good time to back the Cats.

A hot three-point shooting game might be needed but we’ve seen Kentucky do that quite often. Amari Williams could negate the big Johni Broome mismatch that Auburn has on a nightly basis.

Kentucky goes toe-to-toe with the best team in college basketball and finds a way to pull out a win in the final segment. The long losing streak at Rupp Arena continues for the Tigers.

Score: Kentucky 91, Auburn 88

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No. 17 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Auburn: How to Watch, Listen

• Date, Time: Saturday, 1:00 p.m. EST
• Television: ABC (Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 or 191
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard