Kentucky at Auburn Game Preview

--Derrick Johnson

On the heels of their first 3-game win streak since November, Kentucky heads to Auburn, Alabama on Wednesday night to play the Tigers at 8:00 pm. Kentucky has beaten Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia in it's past three games but it hasn't come without a price. Senior guards Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford have both suffered injuries during the streak and are both questionable for the Auburn game along with sophomore Jodie Meeks. In his teleconference on Monday, Coach Billy Gillispie told us that Bradley's status is unknown due to the concussion suffered on Saturday along with a viral infection that he was also battling in Athens. Crawford's status is still up in the air while Meeks' has shown little improvement in practice. One thing is for sure, the status of these three will change several more times between now and game time. One positive that came from the Georgia game was that the Cats won their first road game of the season. Before that, they were 0-4 on the road.

Auburn enters the Kentucky game coming off of a 78-71 loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday. Frank Tolbert scored a career high 32 points in the loss, including 26 in the second half. The Tigers fell behind early in the game and trailed by 12 at halftime. Tolbert rallied his team and they closed the gap to 1 point after the half but Vanderbilt kept fighting and eventually pulled out the victory. The last meeting against Kentucky occurred last January in Lexington when the Cats handled the Tigers with ease, winning 84-57. Joe Crawford scored 21 points and Ramel Bradley had arguably one of his best games as a Cat, scoring 18 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and handing out 7 assists. The Cats led by 17 at the half and never let the Tigers gain ground during the second half. The Tigers are 7-3 this year at home.

Overall, Kentucky leads the series, 81-17, and is 22-9 at Beard Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky has won the last 8 games in the series, including the last three in Auburn, as well as 22 of the last 23. Auburn coach Jeff Lebo is 0-3 in his career against Kentucky. Billy Gillispie is 2-0 against Auburn, beating the Tigers 72-67 in 2006 and 87-58 in 2007 while head coach at Texas A&M. Lebo has a Kentucky tie in that he played his final collegiate game at Rupp Arena in 1989 when his UNC team was beat by Michigan in the NCAA Tournament. The game tips off at 8:00 pm ET and will be televised on Raycom Sports.

AUBURN TIGERS (12-8, 2-5)

Auburn is led in scoring by 6-8 senior forward Quan Prowell. He averages 14.0 points a game and 6.2 rebounds a game. Their second leading scorer on the year, Korvotney Barber, hasn't played since the last of December when he broke his hand. He was schedule to be out four weeks but has yet to make an appearance in any games since. 6-5 junior guard Rasheem Barrett averages 13.5 points a game and will provide a tough challenge for the smaller Kentucky guards on the perimeter. Finally, senior Frank Tolbert rounds out the double digit scorers for the Tigers, averaging 12.6 points a game. He has a tendency to explode in some games and score at will. In the Vanderbilt game over the weekend, he scored 32 points, 26 in the second half. He is very streaky and will need constant attention on the perimeter.

STATISTICS
Rebounds – 33.9
Assists – 15.2
Turnovers – 14.7
Steals – 8.3
Blocks – 2.7
Field Goal % - 48%
Free Throw % - 64%
3-Point % - 35%

KENTUCKY WILDCATS (10-9, 4-2)

Kentucky is led in scoring by freshman sensation Patrick Patterson, as it has been for most of the year. Patterson averages 17.1 points a game, which puts him 7th in the SEC. He also averages 8 rebounds a game, which is 5th. There is no doubt that this year has been a great one for Patterson but a stat I ran across puts it into perspective. If Patterson can average 16 points per game for the remainder of the season and in the one guaranteed SEC Tournament game, he will become the all-time leading freshman scorer at UK. He currently needs 174 points to pass “King” Rex Chapman. Joe Crawford has been hampered by a foot injury but has still averaged 16.6 points a game. Ramel Bradley is questionable for the Auburn game as a a result of a concussion and viral infection but if he does play he provides almost 16 points in scoring. Jodie Meeks would provide another 10 points if he goes on Wednesday night.

STATISTICS
Rebounds – 35.1
Assists – 13.7
Turnovers – 16.3
Steals – 7.3
Blocks – 4.6
Field Goal % - 47%
Free Throw % - 76%
3-Point % - 36%

KEYS TO THE GAME

TURNOVERS!! Auburn averages almost 15 turnovers a game but in their last 11 games they have cut that total to only 12 per game. Kentucky averages 16 a game but in it's last five it has only averaged 12. Which ever team can force the other to revert to their old habits will have an excellent chance of leaving Beard-Eaves Coliseum with the “W”.

SHUT DOWN TOLBERT!! Frank Tolbert is not the leading scorer on this team but he tends to have big games followed by let downs. He scored a career high 32 points at Vanderbilt on Saturday and will come out looking to keep the hot shooting going. Kentucky must defend him around the perimeter and cut him off when he decides to drive to the basket. He shoots 31% from the 3-point arc but has only taken 60 shots so far. He is primarily a threat on dribble drives and when he creates his own shot by getting the defender on their heels.

QUAN MUST BE STOPPED!! No disrespect to Rod Tidwell from “Jerry Maguire” but Kentucky would like to not see too much “Quan” on Wednesday night. Quan Prowell is a heck of a scorer but I would rather find out from the box scores of past games and not witness it live. Every team Kentucky plays seems to have one player who scores at will. I would rather it not be Quan on Wednesday.

BE QUICK ON YOUR FEET AND ADJUST!! Auburn routinely starts four guards and Prowell who is 6-8. The Cats must adjust to this and put a lineup on the court that can defend the smaller, quicker guards that the Tigers put on the floor. Patrick Patterson will probably guard Prowell leaving the four spot for guys like Stevenson and Coury to guard one of the smaller guards. Auburn only plays two guys taller than 6-7 so adjusting to their small lineup will be a big factor.