Auburn enters Saturday night’s matchup against Kentucky Basketball at Neville Arena in desperate need of a win to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
The Tigers, losers of five straight, including a 91-85 defeat at Mississippi State on Wednesday, are just 4-10 in Quad 1 games with three remaining and sitting cautiously on the bubble.
Auburn came back from an 18-point deficit against the Bulldogs, where they eventually had a seven-point lead with under four minutes to play, but missed seven of their
last eight shots, allowing Mississippi State to end the game on an 18-5 run.
Auburn has lost to Tennessee, Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas during this skid, making this the Tigers’ longest skid in a decade.
After Wednesday’s defeat, head coach Steven Pearl made it clear what the stakes are heading into the Kentucky matchup.
“Your season’s on the line on Saturday,” Pearl stated. “If you don’t win on Saturday, you’re probably firmly on the bubble and out of the (NCAA) tournament. We’ve just got to go try to win on Saturday. That’s really the main objective.”
Meanwhile, the Wildcats want revenge after last year’s 94-78 loss in Rupp Arena. Plus, they are reeling after a recent defeat to Georgia and need to avoid a three-game losing streak as the regular season winds down.
It’s clear this game will have an NCAA Tournament do-or-die type of mentality for the Tigers, so Kentucky will need to come with that type of intensity, or a third straight loss is likely to happen.
Kentucky, 17-9 on the year, will be ready for a fight as Auburn, 14-12, seeks to rebound. The game tips off at 8:30 PM on ESPN.
With the Tigers’ tournament hopes hanging by a thread, Neville Arena is expected to be electric and likely one of the toughest environments Kentucky has seen this season.
