The Auburn Tigers put their No. 1 national ranking and slim lead in the SEC standings on the line in a top 20 matchup with the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. At 25-2 with both losses against teams ranked among the top 10 at the time of the game, the Tigers use a balanced offense and relentless defense to confound opponents. They responded from an upset loss to Florida three weeks ago by winning their next four games and are 7-1 in true road games. The Tigers are also 16-10 against the betting line at the Bitcoin sportsbook. The Cats find themselves in an unfamiliar spot with losses in six of their last 10 games and just a 7-7 record in SEC games. However, Kentucky has won seven of 10 games against nationally ranked foes and is 14-2 at home. The game tips at 1 p.m. ET from Rupp Arena and can be seen on ABC.
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Auburn Tigers
The Tigers have only two losses this season with those coming to teams currently right behind them in the national rankings. Their first loss was at Duke, 84-78, in early December. The Dookies are No. 2 in the polls as of this writing. On February 8 Auburn suffered its other loss, 90-81, at home against the Gators, who are No. 3. Those teams have a combined record of 49-7. Since their loss to Florida the Tigers have won four straight though they failed to cover the closing line in the last two.
Beating Kentucky is always the measuring stick of a team’s success within the conference. Auburn has dropped the last two meetings with the Cats by a combined 43 points and is 0-3 SU and 1-2 ATS in the last three visits to Rupp Arena. This isn’t the same Auburn squad, though, as evidenced by their nine wins against ranked opponents. However, slow starts have been a concern in recent games against unranked foes.
National player of the year candidate Johni Broome had 31 points and 14 rebounds helping Auburn pull away from Georgia for an 82-70 win last Saturday. Broome was perfect from the field in the second half making all seven field goals helping the Tigers score 53 points in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers also got 17 points from Denver Jones and 11 points each from Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly showing off their balanced offensive approach. Auburn ranks among the top 10 nationally averaging more than 84 points cashing the OVER in 16 of their 27 games.
Kentucky Wildcats
We don’t often see the Wildcats in the middle of the SEC standings this late in the season, but the SEC is the most competitive league in college basketball with half the teams ranked in the top 25 and four ranked among the top six. With six losses in their last 10 games the Cats have slipped to 7-7 in SEC games and 18-9 overall. Seven of their wins have come against ranked competition keeping them in the national spotlight, though brand recognition likely has something to do with that.
Offense hasn’t been an issue for Kentucky with an average of 85.7 points the third-highest in the country. Their problem has been on the other end of the floor. Last Saturday’s 96-83 loss to Alabama was the fourth game the Cats allowed 95 or more points and their average of 76.4 points allowed ranks 305th nationally. Kentucky has been able to outscore some opponents averaging nearly 86 points, but that number is significantly lower when facing SEC foes.
Having starters Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson back in the lineup should boost Kentucky. Both players missed the last three games with the Cats losing two of them. Robinson is second on the club averaging 13.3 points with Butler third at 12.5 points per game. Koby Brea stepped up against Alabama doubling his season scoring average with 20 points. Otega Oweh needs to respond after scoring just two points on 1 of 9 shooting against the Tide. Oweh scores a team-best 15.7 points per game while shooting 48.4 percent.
Auburn at Kentucky Same Game Parlay Picks
Kentucky ATS
Auburn / Kentucky OVER
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