Kentucky Ditches the Brake Pads in 86-54 Smushing of Auburn

For once, it was never in doubt for the Kentucky Wildcats.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — One of the many marks of a team that's ready for March Madness is how it puts an opponent away when it has it on the ropes. 

That's something that Kentucky has had a severe issue with during the 2022-23 regular season. Taking the foot off the gas pedal has been a mainstay for coach John Calipari's crew of Wildcats. 

Until Saturday. 

Kentucky found its mean streak against Auburn, ditching the brake pads, stepping on the gas, as well as the throat of the Tigers in an 86-54 rout. 

The Wildcats led for 36:41 inside Rupp Arena, leaving the result less and less in doubt as the clock ticked down. After taking an 11-point lead into the locker room at halftime, UK — more-so shooting guard Antonio Reeves — erupted in the final 20 minutes. 

After nailing just one 3-pointer in the first half, the Illinois State transfer knocked down seven shots in the final 20 minutes, accruing a game-total of 21 points, though he still didn't lead all scorers. 

Oscar Tshiebwe followed up a 25-point performance with 22 on another terrific shooting night, missing just two of 10 attempts. The rebounding prowess also returned from its vacation, as he began to win the war over Broome, finishing with 17 rebounds. 

Freshman point guard Cason Wallace returned to his wowing offensive form, racking up 19 points of his own, the most for the Dallas native since Feb. 7. He also tallied a game-high nine assists.

Kentucky (20-9, 11-5 SEC) began the back half on a 7-2 run, continuing to build separation from the Tigers (19-10, 9-7). Broome and forward Jaylin Williams were unable to build off of their hot starts, scoring just a combined six points in the half. 

"That's all we were talking about. Like, don't let up, like you gotta keep playing throughout the whole game," Wallace said postgame. "Now that we know we can do it, we're going to keep trying that."

Reeves quickly turned into a human flamethrower, swishing back-to-back treys, all of a sudden growing UK's lead to 59-37. Auburn couldn't come close to finding an answer, as the Cats 56.1 shooting percentage resulted in never-ending baskets. 

"Once I throw it up, I already knew it was going in," Reeves told reporters. "That happened a couple of times."

The opening action consisted of nothing but a big-man battle, as Tshiebwe and Morehead State transfer Johni Broome went toe-to-toe, exposing each other's defensive weaknesses in the process. Broome had seven of Auburn's first nine points, while Tshiebwe made his first three baskets for six of the Cats' first 10. 

Throughout the season, Kentucky coach John Calipari has touched on having daggers thrown at his team over the course of the year. Now, it's his team throwing the dagger.

"You know what you got to make? An open shot. That's a dagger," Calipari said. "You know what you got to get? A tough rebound, and throw it ahead and make that three. That's a dagger. And we kept running today. I mean, we didn't stop." 

"I think it was our defense that really did the job for us," Wallace added. "Locking down on defense, it was leading to transition points."

After going down 3-0, Kentucky took and then maintained the lead for the rest of the half, as Auburn failed to find any sort of consistency on offense. The Wildcats again got a jolt from freshman Adou Thiero, as he saw an uptick in minutes thanks to forward Chris Livingston picking up two quick fouls. 

The Leetsdale, Pa. product canned a corner 3-pointer, his first make from deep since UK's loss at Missouri on Dec. 28. He also came across a pair of boards in his nine minutes on the court.

Kentucky closed the first half on an 8-0 run, started by a Toppin 3-pointer. Auburn went the final 2:53 without a field goal, leading to the Wildcats' 40-29 lead at the break. 

Tshiebwe touted a double-double in the half alone, totaling 14 points on 5-7 shooting and 10 boards. Wallace kicked his shooting woes en route to an 11-point, four-assist half, while Toppin began his quest to another double-double with seven points and five rebounds. 

Auburn — as it has all season — struggled shooting the ball, going 11-32. It was done no favors, though, as just one of its buckets in the half involved an assist.

"You can't have one assist in the first half," Pearl said. "Got to offensively try to work together to make each other better and we just didn't. And of course, the same thing happened on the defensive end as well. So Auburn was not competitive at all tonight."

Pearl's Tigers' were doomed by their offensive ineptitude from the jump.

"We've never dominated like that before," Reeves said. "I feel like this game could just take us to the top."

"They're getting there," Calipari said of his team. "We're on that rise, and at this time of the year, you're trying to have them empowered."  

Kentucky will return to the floor for Senior Day at Rupp Arena on Wednesday, hosting the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. EST. 

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