GAME WRAP: Kentucky 82, Auburn 80

Kentucky wins, 82-80.

Auburn now is 13-4 overall, 2-2 in league play.

AUBURN BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 13-of-26 (50%)
3FG: 13-of-30 (43%)
FT: 15-of-20 (75%)

Auburn lost the rebounding battle, 33-26.

Auburn is 3-3 this season when being out-rebounded.

KENTUCKY BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 20-of-33 (61%)
3FG: 6-of-15 (40%)
FT: 24-of-33 (73%)

MY AUBURN PLAYER OF THE GAME
G Bryce Brown: 28 points (8-of-9 shooting), 3 assists, 1 steal

FROM THE KENTUCKY SIDE

"The game was physical — a lot of hand-to-hand combat. That's how it works here." — Kentucky coach John Calipari

"I felt like I did a good job (defending) him; he just hit some good shots. In the first half, he was sort of fading away. He was out of it. In the second half, they started running stuff for him." — Kentucky guard Tyler Herro on Bryce Brown

FROM THE AUBURN SIDE

• The biggest takeaway here, and it's definitely not good news for Auburn, is that a lack of physicality wrecked the Tigers' chances today. I'll spend time talking about other facets of the game, sure, but Auburn simply could not repel Kentucky's size and strength. That's because this Auburn team doesn't have enough individual fight from scholarship spot 1 though 10 to win these kinds of games. I'm not saying the players don't care; they care a lot. I'm saying that too many Auburn players come into every game with the same basic mindset and cannot, or will not, adjust their style to perform more effectively against rough-and-tumble opponents. Jared Harper is tough enough — as tough as a guy his size can be — but Bryce Brown all but refuses to drive, Ant McLemore backs away from physical challenges, Chuma Okeke doesn't demand the ball the way you'd expect from a power forward with his experience/skill set. Kentucky beat the Tigers to a pulp Saturday. South Carolina's plan for Tuesday? Beat 'em to a pulp. That's the scouting report on Auburn now — hit them in the mouth and watch their important players back away from the challenge.

• That's not to say that every player backs down. Malik Dunbar didn't back down. He never backs down. "I loved playing in this game," he told me afterward. He earned 22 minutes Saturday, most against an SEC opponent since the February game against Alabama last year, and added 10 points. He also added seven boards. Horace Spencer was up to the physical challenge. He grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and brought the fight to Kentucky. Yet too many of their teammates cannot deal with the rough opponents. Why is Harper, all 175 pounds of him, this team's best when it comes to finishing at the rim through contact? Guys like Okeke, Spencer, even Dunbar must improve in that category. There is no try; there is only success or failure.

• "They were bigger and more physical than us at every position," Bruce Pearl said. "We’ve got to be able to handle the physical — use our quickness and speed more. We weren’t able to take advantage of that."

• I'll get away from this point, but this still need to be said: Auburn cannot win consistently with McLemore offering two points, one rebound, one block and five fouls in 17 minutes of work. That's 100 miles off the standard he set last season. This kind of game is poisonous for Auburn even if Austin Wiley was 100 percent. With Wiley out, and therefore more responsibility being shifted to McLemore's shoulders, this performance is unacceptable.

• About Wiley — he'll be out for at least a few weeks. He's aggravated something associated with past problems involving his feet and shins. Remember that he missed a lot of preseason practice with similar issues and actually missed the first game this season, too. I sense that Auburn believes he'll be back this season, and was spotted Friday walking across campus without a boot, but his defensive rebounding and shot blocking must be recouped in some way by someone.

• There is good news from an Auburn perspective. When Kentucky ended the first half on a 9-0 run and opened the second half on an 8-2 run, there was temptation to fold. Brown has been in games like this before and become wholly dispirited. How did he respond this time? The senior scored 25 second-half points on 7-of-7 shooting. It was a tremendous, all-time performance — and one that dragged Auburn back into a game that it appeared destined to lose by 20 points. That is a huge credit to Brown, who fought harder to get free and created an extra step of space after halftime. An extra step is the difference for him.

• Auburn also made a nice defensive adjustment during the second half. Rather than allow UK point guard Ashton Hagans to attack down the middle of the court, Brown pushed up on Hagans and forced him to begin offensive sets with dribbles toward the flanks. That creates defensive leverage against the boundary and all but eliminated Hagan's ability to drive into the lane. Tyler Herro's ability to come up big during the final few minutes gave UK the lift in needed, but the Tigers' defensive plan and execution during the second half was better.

• The final true possession, the one that ended after Harper missed on a drive with five seconds remaining, didn't unfold ideally. Pearl wanted the ball in Brown's hands, but UK (predictably) overplayed him and prevented a pass. Harper was able to break free (predictably) and get downhill and get a good look from five feet. That's a shot he takes all the time. He hits it at least three-quarters of the time. He just missed that one. "I'll take that look anytime," Pearl said.

• Danjel Purifoy, serving as the 9th man Saturday, played eight minutes and scored three points. He'll get some chances now that Wiley is out, though he still doesn't look like the guy who averaged 11.5 points per game two seasons ago. I still don't know what to make of this 2019 version of Purifoy. We all know the potential is in there somewhere. Can Pearl unlock it? Can Purifoy stop sulking long enough to get it unlocked? That's all very much TBA.

• Auburn resumes play Tuesday at South Carolina. That game is scheduled to tip at 5:30 CST and will be televised by the SEC Network.

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