Zep Jasper’s corner 3-pointer bounced high off the rim, kissed the backboard and then took another bounce on the front of the iron as Kentucky’s Jacob Toppin mistimed his jump
Jaylin Williams, on the other hand, didn’t. Auburn’s senior forward came flying down the lane, grabbed the rebound and threw it down for a putback slam. The excitement was palpable for Auburn, which found itself with a one-point lead on the road against Kentucky with 5:24 to go in the first half at Rupp Arena — a venue that has haunted the Tigers throughout their series history with the Wildcats.
People are also reading… After Williams’ putback dunk, Auburn offense went into a drought; the Tigers made just one of their final nine shots in the half as Kentucky closed the half on a 16-4 run to take an 11-point lead into the break. It only got worse from there for the Tigers, who made just one of their first five shots in the second half and watched as the Wildcats only widened the gap the rest of the way.
“It was a complete domination on both ends of the floor, and it really hurts our NCAA hopes, because of the margins,” Pearl said. “We’ve got to regroup.... We’ve got to win one of those, at least.”In a matchup of two of the best big men in the SEC, Johni Broome and Oscar Tshiebwe didn’t disappoint in the early goings at Rupp Arena, as both standout bigs got off to hot starts for their respective teams.
Broome started 4-of-5 from the floor in the game’s first 7 ½ minutes, but he attempted just one shot between the 12:33 mark of the first half and the 6:45 mark in the second half — going a full 20 minutes of game time with just one shot attempt. During that stretch, Broome also got into foul trouble. He picked up his second foul with seven seconds to go in the first half on a touch-foul during a baseline jumper by Tshiebwe.
“The physicality of Kentucky — you look at the rebounding numbers, we just got dominated on the boards,” Pearl said. “...We just, you know, just the numbers were incredible. Tshiebwe and Toppin physically had their way with us.”It has become a familiar refrain from Bruce Pearl, who so often has lamented the lack of production Auburn has gotten from its bench. On Saturday afternoon at Rupp, Auburn again needed more from its supporting cast, as it got just 13 points from its bench.
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