Auburn/Kentucky review

Kentucky, looking to extend it's winning streak to five in a row took on Auburn for the second time this season. 

Kentucky started the game with a line-up of Julius Mays, Archie Goodwin, Nerlens Noel, Alex  Poythress and Ryan Harrow. Kentucky opened the scoring 1-0 on a free-throw at he 18:00 mark, from there Harrow score five straight (layup and a 3) to take a 6-5 lead. An impressive ally-oop to Noel from Mays forced Auburn big man Chubb to pick up his 2nd foul as Noel earned the chance for a "and one", Nerlens sank the following free-throw to shrink Auburn's lead to 10-9 at the 15:43 mark.

Auburn who went 0-15 from three point range, seemed to find their range as they sank two threes early in the first half. Auburn played some aggressive zone defense in the 1st half making it difficult for Kentucky to get to the rim. 

Jarred Polson and Willie Cauley-Stein came in off the bench and with them came a spark Kentucky needed. Both guys were all over the floor, diving for loose balls and crashing the boards on every missed shot. If everyone on the team had that kind of effort, this season would've turned out drastically different. Polson even drained a three from the corner to give Kentucky a lead of 16-14 with 11:58 until the break.

Alex Poythress looked good early in the first half, scoring on two straight impressive plays in the post to put Kentucky up 20-14. If Alex could bring the type of effort and energy he had on those two possessions, this team improves drastically. 

With 9:12 until half-time, Auburn continued to hit the threes that they were missing in the last meeting to take a 21-20 lead. Kentucky's perimeter defense was basically non-existent, but with fouls being called at an absurd rate, they were probably afraid to get too close. That still doesn't change the fact that the Cats looked extremely slow on the defensive end of the floor. That will have to change come Tuesday night with Florida waiting down in Gainesville.

Something Kentucky fans haven't seen in quite sometime, with 3:00 to go in the first half, Nerlens Noel didn't have a single block. Most of that had to do with the fact, Auburn was hitting some jump shots and of course threes that they don't normally hit. Everyone shoots it better in Rupp when taking on Kentucky.

Jarred Polson had a lot of playing time in the first half thanks in large part due to the lack of effort that Ryan Harrow played with. John Calipari has no problem playing Polson and I have no problem seeing him play when he sparks the team like he did today.

This game was very physical, but when Granger of Auburn threw a punch at Archie Goodwin things got a little heated between the two to say the least. Had officials not stopped Goodwin, I'm pretty sure Archie was gonna retaliate in a way that Granger would not have liked at all. The officials reviewed the play, calling it a Flagrant 2 ejecting Granger while Goodwin picked up a personal foul on the rebound and a technical for his retaliation. To me that was the correct call as leaving Granger on the floor would have led to more trouble than the refs could have handled. 

Kentucky went to the half with a lead of 37-31 with all eight players that saw first half action getting in the scoring column. Auburn shot the ball well as they hit 6-9 from three-point range (imagine that) and played some pretty strong defense that seemed to bother Kentucky for most of the half...

First Half Stats:

Kentucky shot 41% from the floor

Auburn shot 38%, but 6-9 from three kept them in it

Noel: 6pts, 8rebs hit 4-5 free throws 

Harrow: 5pts, 1ast, 1-2 from three

Poythress: 6pts, 1reb

Wiltjer: 7pts, 1-4 from three, 3rebs

Mays: 5pts, 1-5 from three, 3rebs, 1ast

Polson: 3pts, 1-1 from three, 2rebs, 1ast

Goodwin: 3pts, 2rebs, 1ast

Cauley-Stein: 2pts, 2rebs, 1ast

Interesting side note, no player for either team reached double figures in any statistical category in the first half.

In the second half, the first guy to dive for a loose ball was Ryan Harrow. I guess Cal had a nice little chat with him at the half about his lack of effort in the first half, I think Ryan listened. Kyle Wiltjer scored the first points of the half with a reverse layup to put Kentucky up 39-31, but gave up a three on the other end to let the lead shrink to 39-34.

It's known that Kentucky doesn't like a lot of physical contact, but I think Auburn took it a little bit to far tonight. Every time they were on the defensive end, there was some kind of extra contact, mostly after the whistle had been blown. I understand trying to "get in your opponents head", but where does the line between "getting in their head" and being a thug end? No excuse for some of the things Auburn pulled tonight, NONE.

Kentucky looked shaky in the second half, but managed to play some good basketball despite the thugness Auburn brought with them. The Cats shot decent early in the half, but they seemed to have more effort than they did before the break. I would love for just one game, these guys to play hard for 40 minutes.

With 10:20 left in the game, Kyle Wiltjer buried a transition three to give Kentucky its largest lead of the day 54-42. The physicality of the game didn't seem to affect the Cats in the way Auburn was hoping as Kentucky remained calm and executed it's game plan.  

Archie Goodwin never really seemed to find his groove as he struggled most of the game and picked up his fourth foul with 10:56 to go in the game. Kentucky needs him to play to his potential every game to take some of the pressure off the other guys. Archie's ability to get to the rim is his most valuable asset and opens up lanes for everyone else. Archie could learn a thing or two about hustle and energy from Jarrod Polson, the kid done everything on the floor tonight. 

One thing I will brag on is Kentucky's interior passing by the big men. These guys are excellent at drawing the double team and then finding the open man. That is something that a lot of big men struggle to do. These guys, at times just make it look so easy.

The funny moment of the game came when 'Big Chubby" Rob Chubb of Auburn had one of the best reactions I have ever seen to fouling out of a game. After riding Ryan Harrow down the lane like a pony, Chubby put on a performance that was Oscar worthy trying to make his case of "I didn't F'n touch him". Classic.

The best moment of the game however came when the eRUPPtion Zone sang Happy Birthday to Calipari. Cal's birthday is tomorrow.

At the 4:00 mark, Kentucky had a lead of 66-50 and showed no signs of letting up. Kentucky showed a "killer instinct" in this game by not backing down from the overly physical play of Auburn. Had this happened earlier in the season, there is no question the Cats would've laid down and took it. Everyone  played hard and never let anything stop them from paying their game. It has taken a while for this team to come together and there still some things to improve on. But, if after the Texas A&M loss you would've told me the Cats would've been in second place in the SEC with a chance to be in a tie for first place if they beat Florida I would've slapped you in the face. These guys are improving, there's no question. It's just going to take longer than most of John Calipari's teams.

Nerlens Noel recorded his first block of the day with 1:04 to go in the game. I don't think that will happen very many times this season. Noel also shot free throws very well going 8-12 and recording another double double with 10pts and 11rebs.

It was a tough game and at times wasn't very pretty, but this team showed me something tonight. Maybe they are starting to understand what it takes to win at the University of Kentucky. It can be overwhelming, but given some time, everyone flourishes under John Calipari.

FINAL POINT TOTALS:

Wiltjer: 14

Cauley-Stien: 12

Harrow: 12

Mays: 10

Noel: 10

Poythress: 8

Good game by everyone that saw some clock, they played with a sense of urgency, FINALLY

Final score was 72-62 Cats.

Up next is Florida Tuesday night....