Is a Wildcat or a Tiger stronger? That question may linger, but we will see which is better on a basketball court on Saturday afternoon when the Auburn Tigers welcome the Kentucky Wildcats to Auburn Arena, looking to surpass Coach Calipari’s team as the best in the SEC, non-Tennessee division.
Kentucky hasn’t been as good to start this season as some expected from the perennial powerhouse, but the Wildcats have seemed to have gotten back on track in the last couple weeks and that will be tested against Auburn. Meanwhile, the Tigers are undefeated at home, though the competition there hasn’t been all that strong.
Will Auburn’s three-pointers fall and allow the Tigers to keep pace with Kentucky or will the Wildcat defense slow the Tigers on the perimeter and win this one the strength of superior options inside?
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Kentucky Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers
Date and Time: Saturday, January 19, 2019, 4 p.m. ET
Location: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Wildcats vs. Tigers TV Coverage: ESPN
Simply put, the Wildcats have underperformed this season. Kentucky lost to Alabama to start its conference schedule and then the team was barely able to top Texas A&M before surviving Vanderbilt. This is not the same team we were promised in the preseason. It’s not going to come together to be a top team. We need to accept that reality.
Kentucky hasn’t been able to find a way to get off to a strong start in a game, often finding itself battling back. The players are good, it’s just the total package that seems to be less than the sum of its parts right now.
The Wildcats have 80 PPG and are shooting well enough from the floor and outside. They’ve also been a strong shooting team from the free-throw line and have good rebounding numbers overall, but those stats don’t always tell the whole story.
The team’s frontcourt has regressed since the start of the year. Reid Travis has seen his numbers shrink dramatically. P.J. Washington, E.J. Montgomery and Nick Richards are all good defenders inside with the ability to block, but the offense has been coming much more consistently from the backcourt.
Tyler Herro has now passed Travis in average scoring. He brings quality defense, too. Keldon Johnson is still a force, too. In the point guard position, Ashton Hagans has looked strong, leading the way in assists on the team.
Kentucky has struggled and hasn’t lived up to the hype overall, but the Wildcats will undoubtedly be ready for Saturday in what could be one of their biggest games of the year given how Auburn has looked this year.
Speaking of those Tigers, Auburn took care of business against Texas A&M on Wednesday with a 85-66 win to put their loss to Ole Miss on January 9 even further in the rearview mirror.
Still, that loss taught us an important less about the Tigers: the team is incredibly vulnerable if they cannot find success on the outside.
Auburn is shooting 35.7-percent on the outside and take a ton of three-point shots per game. When they sink, this team is as good as anyone.
Bryce Brown and Jared Harper are the team’s biggest scorers and both players are strong on the perimeter. Harper is also the leader in assists, helping to spread the ball around, but aside from these two each with at least 15 PPG, the only other scorer on the team in double-digits is Austin Wiley.
Wiley’s the team’s center and along with Chuma Okeke and Anfernee McLemore at least give Auburn a formidable group of defenders inside to contend with Travis, someone who Kentucky really needs to get back on track.
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For Auburn, it’s all about the three-point shot. The Tigers need the deep shot to sink and when you rely on the outside shot that much, the team is bound to be volatile at best. We saw the struggles that could represent in Auburn’s loss to Ole Miss last week, but since the threes have gone in at a better rate and the Tigers have enjoyed more success as a result.
If the shots are sinking outside for Auburn they can compete with anybody. If, however, they’re not, this team doesn’t have the wherewithal to compete with Kentucky inside the paint.
Watch to see if the Wildcats can force Auburn into the paint more often or if the Tigers struggle shooting outside out of the gate. Either indication could pay dividends for those taking advantage of the live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
What happened to Reid Travis? The grad transfer from Sanford was a force inside for much of the non-conference schedule, but has seen his success evaporate in conference play.
Travis came out strong with 22-points in his Kentucky debut against Duke and was the dominant force inside on the team from there out, at least until recently. He’s got 12.8 PPG and 6.4 RPG this year. The rebounds are still there—mostly—but the points have gone. He’s scored 17 combined over the last three games.
The Wildcats will need Travis to play well against Auburn, particularly if the Tigers are shooting well outside. They don’t have the players to stop Travis if he’s playing well. The frontcourt needs to step up for Kentucky and that’s on Reid Travis more than anyone else.
Wildcats vs. Tigers Live Betting
This should be a close game and it really comes down to whether Auburn can play up to its capabilities. In the end, look for the Tigers to get the win against a weakened Kentucky team.
Kentucky has seen Travis struggle of late with no signs of returning to form. While most of the offense comes from the perimeter for the Tigers, look for the Auburn frontcourt to play well defensively and keep the Wildcats’ offense from raking up the points.
In reality, both of these teams are good, but flawed. Look for Auburn’s flaws to be a bit more hidden as they shoot well enough outside to win what could ultimately be a tight battle down to the final buzzer.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Auburn 78, Kentucky 74
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