In a highly anticipated SEC matchup, No. 22 Kentucky secured a significant lead against No. 13 Auburn in the first half at Neville Arena, showcasing what has been described as their best 20 minutes of the season. Kentucky's defense held Auburn to just 28% shooting from the floor, leading to a 39-29 halftime score, with Auburn trailing by 10 at halftime. Justin Edwards opened the game with a dunk, contributing to an early Kentucky lead of 6-2. Despite Auburn's 10-3 run, Kentucky responded with a 7-0 run. Auburn struggled offensively, marking their lowest scoring half at home in SEC play this season. The game saw Auburn's Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson each pick up multiple fouls in the first half, with Donaldson picking up his third foul, hindering their performance. Despite Auburn's attempts to rally in the second half, Kentucky maintained their lead, demonstrating strong offensive and defensive plays.
it's not like Kentucky's defense has magically become a lockdown unit today Auburn has missed 34 shots, and I would wager that 20+ of them have been wide-open Kentucky leads by 12 with 7:30 to play
With 11:29 to go, Kentucky has already committed 6 turnovers this half. Auburn has committed 1. Kentucky 49, Auburn 44. #BBN #ukbasketball
Danger zone. Auburn has cut Kentucky's lead to 47-42. Cal wants timeout with 12:31 to try and calm things down. Difficult in this environment. #BBN #ukbasketball
Auburn shot 61% from the field vs. the SEC's No. 1 scoring defense three nights ago Auburn is shooting 27% from the field vs. the SEC's No. 13 scoring defense tonight the Tigers' haven't shot worse than 38.7% in a home game all season they trail Kentucky by 11 with 14:54 left
Kentucky 47, Auburn 36 with 14:54 left here at Neville Arena. Cats didn't allow the host Tigers to open second half with a blitz. Neither side happy with officials. Each bench playing Jack-in-the-Box with every call. Cal just got a bench warning for being halfway to Montgomery.
Auburn starting to force the ball inside early in the second half. Resulted in three Kentucky fouls already.
#Auburn PG Tre Donaldson has picked up fouls three and four within the first two minutes of the second half. KD Johnson's in for him. Looks like Denver Jones will run point.
Auburn opens the second half with a tough midrange jumper miss, gives up a second-chance bucket on the other end, and now a third foul on Tre Donaldson (after a steal) that's now getting reviewed rough start
Tre Donaldson picks up his third foul 64 seconds into the second half, and they're reviewing it for a flagrant.
HALF | No. 22 Kentucky 39, No. 13 #Auburn 29 That's got to be #Auburn's worst half offensively in Neville Arena this year. And six turnovers (with 15 points allowed off those turnovers) is no help, either. A 10-point deficit could be a lot worse, but it feels like a mountain to… https://t.co/Mk6Tj2RTBq
Auburn trails Kentucky 39-29 at the half. Lowest scoring half for Auburn at home in SEC play this season. Tigers shoot just 28% from the floor, 3-12 from deep and score zero points off turnovers. Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams are combined just 4-13.
Long way to go obviously but his has been arguably the best 20 minutes Kentucky has played all season. Holding Auburn to 28 pct shooting and leads by 10 at halftime in Neville Arena. Cats have 15 points off turnovers to Auburn's none.
KD Johnson just picked up his third first-half foul. Tigers have also had a 10-3 run that brought them within five stunted by a 7-0 run from Kentucky.
KD Johnson just picked up his third first-half foul. Tigers have also had a 10-3 run that brough them within five stunted by a 7-0 run from Kentucky.
Johni Broome's goal-tended basket just got taken off after a review. It's now 19-9, Kentucky. (8:29 1H)
to make matters worse for Auburn, the referees just reviewed that earlier goaltending on Kentucky and took it off the board so Auburn's down by 10 with 8:29 left in the first half
Tre Donaldson just picked up his second foul (10:39 1H). He and KD Johnson each have a couple already. #Auburn
Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson each have two fouls less than 10 minutes in.
assist-to-turnover ratio has been a huge factor between Auburn's wins and losses in SEC play this season Auburn has five turnovers and just two assists already in this one Kentucky has the exact opposite
Bruce Pearl calls time with Kentucky up 18-9 with 11:01 left in 1H. Auburn is 4-of-12 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from 3. Cats are 7-of-14 from field. #BBN #ukbasketball
Auburn had the energy back in the place, then a little more doing too much on a fast break turned into back-to-back 3-pointers for Kentucky Bruce Pearl calls timeout to get to the under-12 with Kentucky leading, 18-9
Auburn has scored two points in seven minutes, at home, against what has been a struggling Kentucky defense
Kentucky hurting Auburn on the offensive boards. Seven of its 11 points have come from offensive rebounds.
FIRST TIMEOUT: Kentucky 6, Auburn 2. Justin Edwards opens the game up with a dunk for UK. Neville Arena is LOUD, expect it to stay that way all night #BBN @WHAS11
Jack Givens said this week if Kentucky could make it to the first TV timeout without calling a timeout, the Cats would be in good shape. They are in good shape. UK 6, Auburn 2 at 15:38 mark of 1H. #BBN #ukbasketball
The game's first timeout comes at the 15:38 mark of the half, with Kentucky leading Auburn, 6-2. Justin Edwards has four points so far.
GameDay. Baseball. Basketball. Full day. It’ll be No. 13 #Auburn (20-5, 9-3 SEC) vs. No. 22 Kentucky (17-7, 7-4 SEC) in less than an hour. https://t.co/qId5AUXa3c
At Neville Arena for Kentucky-Auburn basketball. https://t.co/XVAnKTbtTN
ICYMI: Kentucky plays today at Auburn, who has been dominating opponents at home. #BBN #ukbasketball https://t.co/zgXC5QQzwj