AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - On what was going to be an exciting game for the Tigers with ESPN’s College GameDay in the plains, turned out to be a disappointment, as they took their first loss at home against the Kentucky Wildcats, 70-59.
The Wildcats attacked early and finished strong, never trailing the whole game. Antonio Reeves, Adou Thiero, and Rob Dillingham were they key pieces the Wildcats’ victory, combining for 47 points and 15 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Tigers struggled to keep up offensively, going 17/55 in field goals and 4/22 in 3-pointers. Although Johni Broome tried to keep his team in the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds, most of the Tigers couldn’t get too much going. Veteran Jaylin Williams only had three points, even though he left the game due to injury.
With this loss, the Tigers fall to fourth place in the Southeastern conference, and 20-6 overall. It was predicted earlier that morning that the Tigers would be fourth place in the NCAA Tournament during College GameDay, which could now be shaken up.
Although head coach Bruce Pearl was expecting his team to show up and show out, he knew that the Wildcats were still a difficult team to take down. Pearl said that they are a team that had a high significance in the conference.
“Kentucky is still the gold standard in our league, and they always will be,” said Pearl. “If you want to be relevant in college basketball, in the SEC, you have to beat Kentucky every now and then.”
The Tigers’ next game will be at Athens, where they will face the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time this season on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcasted on the SEC Network.
