Yesterday Auburn basketball hosted the Kentucky Wildcats at Auburn Arena, and the Tigers sent the Wildcats home with a loss on their record. Here are some takeaways from the game.
After a troubling first half for Auburn basketball in their game against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, they managed to fight back and pull off a big win.
We win, we dance. 😎 pic.twitter.com/B3MTRiGB15
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) January 16, 2021
Here are three positives to come out of Auburn’s defeat of Kentucky.
1. Auburn can win games without Sharife Cooper’s shots falling.
Despite the fact that Auburn’s newly eligible freshman was 3-13 from the floor and 0-5 in three point attempts, Auburn still managed to pull off a win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
How? Sharife Cooper’s ability to run the floor and guide the team shine through even when his shots aren’t falling. With eight assists when the final buzzer sounded, Sharife Cooper didn’t lead the Tigers in scoring but he made it possible for the team to come back from a dismal first half.
2. Auburn’s young players will continue to step up.
Sophomores Allen Flanigan and Devan Cambridge were the Tigers’ leading scorers on Saturday with 21 and 13 points respectively. Freshman JT Thor had six rebounds, and fellow first year Dylan Cardwell had eight rebounds.
These are pretty impressive stats for these young players, and they continue to prove that they will step up to make big plays when the shots aren’t falling. It will be exciting to see what Auburn looks like with Freshman Justin Powell on the floor with these guys.
3. This is the fourth straight season in which Auburn basketball has beaten Kentucky.
still pretty wild that auburn beating kentucky in basketball is a common event now
— Brice (@dBriceJ) January 16, 2021
The tweet says it all, doesn’t it? Auburn basketball is officially moving up in the world, and this marks the fourth straight season in which Auburn basketball has defeated Kentucky. Auburn is 5-4 against Kentucky basketball since 2016– a winning record.
Again, let me emphasize the youngness of this Auburn basketball team. Their potential is amazing, and once they finally get the opportunity to all play together, things should start clicking. The only place to go from here is up.