Kentucky 72, Auburn 62: Kyle Wiltjer came off the bench to lead five players in double figures with 14 points as the host Wildcats defeated the Tigers to win their fifth straight game.
Nerlens Noel turned in his third straight double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for Kentucky (17-6, 8-2 SEC), which will have three days to prepare for Tuesday’s conference showdown at No. 2 Florida.
Chris Denson scored 15 points to lead Auburn (9-14, 3-7), which has dropped seven of eight.
The Wildcats led by six at the break and allowed the Tigers to crawl within three in the early moments of the second half, but five points apiece from Wiltjer and Julius Mays during a 20-8 surge stretched Kentucky’s lead to 61-46 with 7:38 left.
Auburn centers Rob Chubb and Asauhn Dixon-Tatum each fouled out less than a minute later and Willie Cauley-Stein scored five consecutive points shortly thereafter to keep the double-digit cushion for the rest of the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Noel – the nation’s leading shot blocker – did not register his first until the 1:05 mark of the second half. Kentucky recorded four blocks, one shy of matching a season low . …. Auburn's leading scorer Frankie Sullivan sat the final 10:19 and finished with eight points, his second single-digit scoring performance. … Kentucky has won 15 straight in this series.
Auburn | Kentucky | |
Chris Denson 15 | Scoring | Kyle Wiltjer 14 |
Josh Wallace 4 | Assists | Julius Mays 2 |
Frankie Sullivan 7 | Rebounds | Nerlens Noel 12 |
Shaquille Johnson 6 | Free Throws Made | Nerlens Noel 8 |
Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 1 | Steals | Nerlens Noel 1 |
Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 2 | Blocks | Ryan Harrow 2 |