Looking to snap a five-game skid in its annual AUTLIVE game, Auburn aims for a resume-boosting win as it hosts Kentucky at Neville Arena.
Auburn’s losing streak entered Quad II territory after a midweek loss to Mississippi State, but the Tigers – with the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country – will meet their 15th Quad I opponent of the season, which stands as the most in the country.
The Tigers are hoping to get off to a better start than most of their five-game duds – having been behind by 13 points or more in the first half five times in their last six outings.
“This has been a resilient group,” said Auburn head coach Steven Pearl. “We’ve got to stop getting off to such slow starts. In five of our last six games, we’ve been down 13 or more in the first half. We’re trying to figure out ways to combat that.”
Auburn’s 3-point defense – which sits dead last in the league after giving up 10 triples alone to Josh Hubbard on Wednesday night – will have to contend with Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler, who combine to average 40 points per game, with Chandler shooting 44.1% from 3-point range.
The Wildcats enter the SEC with the league's highest 3-point shooting percentage during SEC play (36.7%).
“We have to do a better job of executing the scouting report early,” Pearl said. “We can’t let guys who can really shoot it get easy, clean ones. We’ve got to recognize where shooters are and do a better job in our closeouts.”
Pearl mentioned after the Tigers’ loss on Wednesday the magnitude of Saturday’s contest with Kentucky.
“That’s where that energy comes from,” Pearl said. “They know we’re right there. We’ve got to get over the hump. We’ve got to finish and push it over the edge. The reason there’s good energy is they recognize we’re more than capable if we can just finish. That’s what we have to do in these last five games."
He added, “We have five quality wins already this year, and every one you can add on top of this is significant. Every win is a way to win yourself into the tournament or better seeding in the SEC Tournament, and every loss is a way to lose yourself out of the tournament. They know exactly where we’re at right now. We are still in a position to accomplish a lot of the things we set out to do earlier in the year. We’ve just got to finish.”
Tipoff is set for 7:30 at Neville Arena on ESPN.
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