Bruce Pearl challenged his Auburn team before Saturday’s game at No. 4 Kentucky to show they were good enough to compete for a national championship.
But it was the Wildcats that showed they were the only serious title contenders on the floor with an emphatic 80-53 win at Rupp Arena.
The Tigers fall to 18-9 overall and 7-7 in the SEC while Kentucky improves to 23-4 and 12-2.
“It was a domination. It was very, very impressive,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “The disappointing thing is I actually thought we could come in here and win. John (Calipari) told me after the game it’s as good as they’ve played. They shot it really well. But once again, like at LSU, we got physically overmatched.”
Kentucky shot 54.5 percent from the floor including 11 of 24 3-pointers, out-rebounded Auburn 43-24, blocked seven shots and had 15 assists to AU’s eight. UK out-rebounded AU 26-10 in the second half.
Auburn shot just 26.9 percent from the floor, the worst since a season-ending loss to Clemson in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and made 4 of 14 3-pointers, tied for the fewest 3-pointers made this season.
The Wildcats built a 19-point first half lead behind a 16-2 run before Auburn responded with a 14-2 run to cut it to seven. The Wildcats, however, finished the half on a 7-0 run to lead 45-31 at the break.
UK opened the second half with an 11-0 run and led by as many as 33 after the break.
Auburn had three players in double-figure scoring led by Chuma Okeke with 14. Jared Harper added 12 points and Anfernee McLemore 10
Austin Wiley came down hard on his right leg after making a layup just over 4 minutes into the second half, grimacing in pain and limping off the court. He did not return.
Auburn is back in action Wednesday night at Georgia. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: McLemore had 10 points and eight rebounds, the most rebounds he’s had since grabbing nine against Georgia Jan. 12. He shot 4 of 9 from the floor and made 2 of 5 3-pointers.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Harper stole the ball and drove in for a layup, which bounced off the rim. Okeke grabbed the rebound and laid it in for a 4-3 Auburn lead, its last of the game. It was all Kentucky from there.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Harper, who came into the game second in the SEC averaging 6.2 assists per game, failed to log an assist for the first time since his freshman season at South Carolina and only the second time in his career.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: Pearl in the locker room before the game: “If we think we are good enough to win a national championship, it starts here today in Rupp Arena.”
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT II: Pearl after the game: “It’s embarrassing. We got embarrassed, we were humbled, not ready for primetime. I put that on myself, but it was one loss. The key is don’t turn it into two or three losses. … We can’t let this ass-whipping turn into more than one loss.”
