Generator Fire Forces Abrupt End to ABC Coverage of Auburn-Kentucky Game

The nation missed much of the Tigers' 94–78 win.
Andrew Carr shoots during No. 17 Kentucky's 94–78 loss to No. 1 Auburn on March 1, 2025.
Andrew Carr shoots during No. 17 Kentucky's 94–78 loss to No. 1 Auburn on March 1, 2025. / Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Saturday, college basketball fans around the country settled in for a quality Saturday afternoon matchup between No. 1 Auburn and No. 17 Kentucky—a game deemed important enough to make a rare (for college basketball) sojourn onto ABC.

However, coverage did not go according to plan.

Midway through the second half of the Tigers' eventual 94–78 win, ABC abruptly cut away from the game—bouncing from a different college game to NHL coverage. The switch—attributed at the time to "technical difficulties"—took fans by surprise.

Once the game was over, a Wildcats spokesperson shared a statement with Ryan Black of the (Louisville) Courier Journal outlining what happened.

"The broadcast production team experienced technical difficulties during the second half of the game," they said. "There was a fire affecting the ABC generator equipment powering their production truck. It was quickly extinguished, but it caused the broadcast feed to lose power."

For Kentucky fans subjected to Auburn guard Miles Kelly's nine three-pointers, missing the end of the game may have been a relief.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .