AUBURN – The No. 11 Auburn Tigers fell 70-59 to the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats at home inside Neville Arena.
Kentucky was in the driver's seat for most of the game and ended up with the win after holding off an Auburn run in the second half.
What are the biggest takeaways from the game?
Auburn had a less-than-stellar first half
Auburn only trailed by 10 at the halfway point, but it looked worse than that. Kentucky was in control throughout the half and led by as many as 12 points.
Auburn has had slow starts this season but could not overcome it this time.
Auburn could not contain Antonio Reeves
Kentucky's veteran guard proved to be more than Auburn could handle.
Reeves led the Wildcats in scoring with 22 points. He shot 8-20 from the field, 3-6 from 3-point range and had five rebounds.
Kentucky has a skilled group of guards, all of whom are capable of taking over a game. Reeves was the one who stepped up tonight.
Kentucky out-performed Auburn down low
The Wildcats were able to contain the Tigers in the paint, an area in which they normally score a lot of points.
Kentucky had 36 points in the paint to Auburn's 26. Auburn forward Johni Broome, Auburn's leading scorer, was limited to 14 points.
Kentucky went 9-20 on its lay-ups while Auburn went 13-23. The Tigers will aim to avoid another performance like this one in the paint.
Auburn was dominated in transition, second-chance points
Kentucky was able to set itself apart in two important areas: fast-break and second-chance scoring.
The Wildcats had 13 fast-break points to the Tigers' nine. They also controlled the second-chance point category 20-10 despite being out-rebounded 14-10 on the offensive side.
These are two areas in which Auburn has had success this season, but Kentucky performed better in both on Saturday.
The 3-point shot was not Auburn's friend
Following its best performance of the season from beyond the arc, Auburn struggled from 3-point range in this game.
The Tigers shot 4-21 or 19% from deep range. Auburn's leader from 3-point range was Denver Jones, who shot 3-6.
Auburn has not been consistent from 3-point range this season. That is something the Tigers will be looking to solidify before March.
Auburn returns to action next Saturday when it takes on the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegman Coliseum in Athens at 5 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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