Three things we learned from Kentucky's win over Auburn
The Kentucky Wildcats went on the road to take on the Auburn Tigers, and no one thought the Wildcats would leave with the win.
Despite all of the College GameDay crew picking Auburn, the Wildcats held the Tigers to just 59 points on the way to a 70-59 win. Kentucky had one signature win over North Carolina, but this win over Auburn overtook this win over the Tar Heels as "the signature win" of the season.
We learned a few things from Kentucky's win over Auburn, one of which is this team can defend. This was the best defensive performance of the season for the Wildcats, as Auburn was a top-ten offensive team in KenPom, and they only scored 59 points. If Kentucky defends like this the rest of the season they will make a run. We also learned this team likes to be counted out. After the game, Antonio Reeves talked about how the team loved that no one thought they could win. It was clear the team played free in what was their best performance of the season. We also learned that the Wildcats can get timely baskets. Sometimes, you need a shot to fall to keep the crowd out of the game, and Kentucky was able to do just that. Every time Auburn would get some momentum, Kentucky was able to get a basket to hush the crowd. This will help in Kentucky's remaining true road SEC games.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl had this to say about Kentucky after the win, "Kentucky can guard, and they can turn it up when they want to," Pearl said. "They outplayed us tonight; they played really well. We knew their guards were excellent, and late in the game, when it came down to getting decent shots and keeping us at bay, they were able to do that."
After this road win over the #13 team in college basketball, it's clear the Kentucky Wildcats can be a special team.
