Kentucky
Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at LSU
Last Time Out: Auburn Recap
Kentucky has heard it all season long. The Cats have heard how their defense and toughness are not up to the level of what is expected.
On Saturday night, UK faced a tough task. The Cats faced a red-hot Auburn team that was 13-0 at home, ranked 13th in the country and that had won 43 of its last 45 games at home.
No. 22 Kentucky (18-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) showed solid defensive play and toughness in a hostile environment on Saturday night, as the Cats beat Auburn 70-59. UK never trailed
and held Auburn to just 30.9 percent shooting from the floor and made the most of Auburn’s 12 turnovers, converting those into 23 points.
Antonio Reeves led the Cats with 22 points and Adou Thiero added 14 points and eight rebounds. Rob Dillingham had 11 points, all in the first half, while Ugonna Onyenso had seven points and 11 rebounds
Kentucky scored first on a Justn Edwards dunk before Auburn tied the game at 2-2. The Cats would score the next nine points, including five from Dillingham, to lead 11-2.
Auburn (20-6, 9-4) would get a three from Chad Baker-Mazara to get within six, 11-5 before Reeves hit a pair of free throws to give UK a 13-5 advantage. After Auburn scored four straight, Kentucky got D.J. Wagner layup and a three from Reeves to extend the lead to 18-9 and force an Auburn timeout.
UK would extend the lead to 19-9 on an Onyenso free throw, but Auburn scored the next four points to make it 19-13. However, Kentucky responded with an 8-2 run, the last six of which came from Theiro, to lead 27-15 with 5:09 left in the half.
Auburn fought back, scoring the next five points before a Reed Sheppard bank shot gave the Cats a 29-20 lead. Auburn would get back within five, 30-25, before UK got another Reeves three and four straight points from Dillingham to extend the lead to 37-25 with 1:11 remaining in the half. UK would hold a 39-29 lead at the break.
Kentucky scored the first four points of the second half to lead 43-29. Auburn answered with a 7-2 run to get back within nine, 45-36. After a Theiro dunk, Auburn responded with an 8-2 run to make it 49-44 with 11:53 to play.
Once again, UK responded. Reeves drove to the basket for a layup and Thiero hit a pair of free throws to make it 53-44. After a K.D. Johnson basket for Auburn, Reeves made another layup, then a three to extend the lead to 58-46 with 8:38 to play. A pair of Wagner free throws made it 60-46.
Auburn would not go away. The Tigers mounted a 10-4 run to make it 64-56 with 2:59 to play. Auburn would eventually get within seven, 66-59, but UK scored the final four points to seal the victory.
Kentucky
Kentucky made program history as unranked team against Arkansas
The Kentucky Wildcats have had a very up-and-down season, but the high’s have been very high. That was the case on Saturday against Arkansas. After suffering an embarrassing loss to Vandy that snapped a five-game winning streak, they responded with a huge top-15 road win against the Razorbacks. But it wasn’t just a regular big road win. Kentucky made program history with it.
Kentucky’s win at Arkansas was so impressive that it was their largest margin of victory as an unranked opponent in a true road game against an SEC opponent ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll, according to statistician Corey Price. Not only that, but it was the second-most points scored by an unranked Kentucky team in true road win against a top-15 SEC opponent in program history. The most scored was 95 against Alabama in 1973. It was also the team’s fewest turnovers against a top-25 foe since Florida in 2012.
The history-making did not stop there with Kentucky’s win over Arkansas on the road. It marked the first time in program history that an unranked Kentucky team has won two games on the road against a top-25 SEC opponent in the same season. One player made program history as well with his play on the road. Also according to Corey Price, Kentucky star guard Otega Oweh is the first player to have at least 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in a true road game against a top-25 opponent since Jodie Meeks had his electric performance against Tennessee back in 2009.
Time and time again, this Kentucky team has responded. Although there have been plenty of downs this season, the Wildcats still are building a very good resume and with six Quad 1 games left, can make even more history with a chance to actually end up with one of the best resumes in college basketball. Believe it or not, Kentucky has a chance to completely turn this season around and they can build off the biggest win of the season that they just picked up against Arkansas.
In a season full of a lot of inconsistent play, one thing is for sure and that is this team has a lot of potential when they put it all together on the court. The Wildcats displayed that on Saturday night against Arkansas and as a result, they made program history as an unranked Kentucky team because of it.
More Kentucky basketball news
Kentucky
Sunday Headlines: Kentucky Basketball saves season after beating John Calipari and Arkansas

Kentucky
How many times can you rewatch the Kentucky-Arkansas highlightS?
Mark Pope and Kentucky evened the score with John Calipari and Arkansas on Saturday, winning in Fayetteville as the underdog. The Wildcats got back on track for a sixth win in seven games, but this one was sweeter than all of the others. You know why.
As you celebrate on into the night, take a moment to rewatch the top plays from the win over the Hogs. There are over five minutes of fun. Things like Collin Chandler splashing 3s and Otega Oweh finishing at the rim. The technical fouls did not make the clip.
Enjoy.
Highlights from Kentucky-Arkansas
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