Kentucky 72 - 62 Auburn (No. 2,107)

One of the reasons that UK has done relatively well lately is that the Cats' opponents have not shot very well from the outside.  Since Texas A & M put up 83 points on UK in the second SEC game of the season, only LSU has made more than 33 percent of its three-point attempts against the Cats:

Tennessee:  4-12
Auburn:  0-15
Alabama:  2-13
LSU:  8-20
Ole Miss:  5-16
Texas A & M:  2-12
S. Carolina:  5-23

So we were due for someone to get hot from the outside, and that's what Auburn did yesterday.  The Tigers went 7-13 from three-point range -- a blistering 53.8 percent.  It is striking, however, that while Auburn went 6-9 from three-point range in the first half, they took only four three-pointers in the second half -- which shows that the Cats were doing a better job of cutting off those looks.

If Auburn had shot like most of UK's recent opponents, the Cats would likely have had a pretty easy time of it.  UK also could have buried Auburn if the Cats had made their own three-pointers, but UK was cold (6-21) from three-point range, which made Auburn's 2-3 zone quite effective.

The result was a tense, ugly, unpleasant game -- one of the most violent basketball games I've ever seen.  Both of Auburn's centers fouled out as a result of their repeated hacks on Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein.  Another Auburn player, Jordon Granger, was ejected after he not only grabbed Archie Goodwin's behind while they were going for a rebound, but hit Goodwin in the back with his fist.  Auburn was also called for an intentional foul when Kyle Wiltjer stole the ball, headed off for a layup, but was slammed to the floor after an Auburn bear hug.  It was that type of game.

Through it all, the Cats persevered -- never falling behind, and slowly grinding out an ugly victory.  The Cats made 26 of their 38 free throws, which is not great, but represented a slight improvement on their season average.  They out-rebounded Auburn 35-29 in a game where almost every rebound was the occasion of a near fight.  They kept finding Cauley-Stein on the inside -- he went 5-5 from the field (and 2-5 from the line) in only 19 minutes.  They had one moment of great beauty when Poythress (who has amazing gifts) caught a pass -- and immediately threw a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Cauley-Stein for a slam dunk.  And they were all hit, tripped, and battered more than any college team should have to be.

(At halftime, by the way, UK honored the 1978 team -- which was celebrating its 35th anniversary.  On TV, they mentioned that the 1978 team averaged -- averaged! -- 84.4 points per game.  And that was with no three-point shot.  By contrast, this year's team -- which is not slow, by modern standards, is averaging 76 points per game.  Calipari complained after the game that there's too much contact on the court, and I wonder if this is a big part of why scores have declined so much.  One this is for sure:  this year's national title game will not feature 182 points, which was the total when UK beat Duke to win the 1978 title.)

One noticeable thing about the game was that Harrow played only 26 minutes -- while Goodwin played only 17.  In fact, Polson (20 minutes) was on the court more than Goodwin.  After the game, Calipari was extravagant in his praise of Polson and Cauley-Stein, who are showing the "energy" he wants to see.  He also said that he is trying to teach these guys "life lessons," and that one important lesson is putting others ahead of yourself.  Now, to me, that would mean not taking dumb shots -- but interestingly, that wasn't the example Calipari used.  He said he's concerned that some guys are refusing to take shots or drive to the basket when they should -- because they're afraid they will miss and look bad.  He said that you should think of yourself as taking the shot for the team -- and not yourself.  If it's the best play for the team, you should do it, even if you fail.  To me, it sounded as though he thinks someone (Goodwin?  Harrow? Poythress?) is being too passive for fear of failure.  It's an interesting concept -- I still remember how we lost to Ole Miss two years ago in part because Darius Miller passed up a wide-open shot late in the game.  I also noticed that Polson -- who is 3-13 from three-point range -- took two three-pointers yesterday when Auburn refused to guard him.  And made one of them.

Anyway, the Cats have now won five games in a row -- their longest winning streak of the year.  They are 8-2 in SEC play, and are all alone in second place (only one game behind the Gators).  Next up, however, is a brutal week, featuring my two least favorite games on the schedule -- our annual trips to Gainesville and Knoxville.  I am very, very concerned -- but I will be watching to see if those "life lessons" are kicking in.