Sharife Cooper has been nearly unstoppable in his first two games at Auburn.

Cooper is averaging 27 point per game, 10.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41.5% from the field.

Kentucky’s going to look to change that Saturday.

“I’m sure Kentucky is going to trap him and zone him and be physical with him and make him guard and get him in foul trouble and all the other things to try and wear him out,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We’ve got to do a good job of making sure we don’t play him the entire game because we do ask a lot from him, and why wouldn’t you?”

Kentucky arrives at Auburn Arena coming off a 20-point loss at home to Alabama.

“You know, we've got a pissed off Kentucky team coming in here on Saturday,” Pearl said. “So we've got to get ready.”

Though, after starting the season 1-6, the Wildcats reeled off three-straight SEC wins against Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Florida.

“We'll have to play our best game of the year to beat Kentucky. We're playing better. We're improving. We've still got a ways to go,” Pearl said. “Defensively, turning the basketball over, protecting our backboard. Some of the things Kentucky is really good at we struggle with. And they're the benchmark of our league. And so people will measure you against how you perform against the best. That's how you should be measured. And so, for us, obviously this game matters.”

While Brandon Boston hasn’t quite lived up to the ranking of the No. 5 player in the country, he still leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game.

Boston is also a familiar name for the Tigers. Cooper, Devan Cambridge, Stretch Akingbola and Dylan Cardwell all played together on AOT in high school.

Pearl and Auburn recruited Boston to come to Auburn before he ultimately chose Kentucky.

“We don’t have as many Nike players that played in the Nike circuit as much as Kentucky would,” Pearl said. “You know, Devan Cambridge, Sharife, Stretch, Dylan Cardwell all those guys play for AOT and Brandon Boston, BJ, was their teammate. So, those guys are all really good friends and so that’ll be an interesting dynamic from a standpoint of seeing BJ again.”

The Tigers may still be shorthanded, with Justin Powell still day-to-day with a concussion.

Auburn and Kentucky face off at 1 p.m. CST inside Auburn Arena with the game broadcasted on ESPN.

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