ESPN predicts the winner between #17 Kentucky and #1 Auburn
Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have a big game coming up on Saturday against the #1 team in the land the Auburn Tigers.
Both teams are coming off a midweek win as Auburn steamrolled Ole Miss at home, and the Kentucky Wildcats got a gritty road win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Kentucky got Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson back against Oklahoma, but clearly, Robinson was not ready for action as he didn’t play at all in the second half and had his wrist iced.
The Wildcats have a great opportunity as the Auburn Tigers come to town on Saturday. Bruce Pearl’s squad is the #1 team in the land, but the Tigers have struggled playing in Rupp Arena for a long time.
If the Wildcats were to win this game, it would likely lock up a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and put them in a position where a win over LSU would lock up a Thursday game in the SEC Tournament.
Auburn has yet to lose a road game in SEC play, so Mark Pope’s team will look to change this on Saturday.
ESPN only gives the Wildcats a 35.7% chance to win this game at home, so the metrics like the Tigers in this game. If Kentucky is going to win, the grouping of Amari Williams, Brandon Garrison, and Andrew Carr will have to find a way to guard Auburn star forward Johni Broome.
If Kentucky shoots the ball well, they have a shot to win this game with a rowdy Rupp Arena crowd cheering them on. A win on Saturday over the #1 Auburn Tigers would be massive for the Wildcat’s postseason seeding hopes.
