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Kentucky vs. Auburn: TV/Streaming Info, Preview, and Betting Odds/Predictions

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Mark Pope and Bruce Pearl, the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Auburn Tigers in a ranked matchup.
Jake Crandall, Jordan Prather | IMAGN

Fresh off a last-second win over the Oklahoma Sooners, the Kentucky Wildcats face arguably their toughest opponent of the season: Bruce Pearl and his top-ranked Auburn Tigers.

Auburn will invade Lexington for a 1 PM ET game time Saturday in what is one of the biggest matchups of the season.

Led by National Player of the Year favorite Johni Broome, who began his career at nearby Morehead State, the Tigers are likely getting the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 26-2 record. Those losses came to Duke and Florida, ironically, two teams that Kentucky has beaten.

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Playing the No. 1 team at Rupp for just the sixth time in program history is a great way to kick off March, and it will provide Kentucky a litmus test to see where they stand vs. a team that feels bound for a deep March Madness run.

Let’s take a look at what to watch for in the matchup.

Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson

Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson returned to the lineup against Oklahoma after a two-week absence, but neither played more than 20 minutes.

Butler did make his presence felt with seven points and six assists to go with his leadership and defensive pressure. On an even more positive note, he said postgame that he didn’t have any pain throughout the game.

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Sadly, that was not the case for Robinson, whose wrist injury did not respond well, explaining why he only played 12 minutes and missed the entire second half. He did manage to chip in seven points on 3/7 shooting with two steals and an assist, so he did have a relatively positive impact in his limited minutes. Just getting that Saturday would be huge vs. an Auburn team that’s likely going to score 80+ points.

Butler seems to be a full go for Auburn, but the team could play it safe with Robinson’s wrist and sit him for another game. That may be the right move to ensure he’s as healthy as possible for the Big Dance.

Free-Throw Shooting

Playing a physical brand of defense, Auburn fouls at a high rate. In fact, in three of their last four games, they have committed at least 22 fouls, and opponents have attempted an average of 26 free throws. That means Kentucky must take advantage of the charity stripe.

Of late, the Cats have done just that, converting 77.9% on their free throws over the last seven games.

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Against a team that doesn’t make many mistakes, taking advantage of the ones they do make certainly helps with the chance of an upset.

Push the Pace

Auburn has the most efficient offense in the country, according to KenPom. However, they are not a team that likes to push the pace. With an average offensive possession of 17.2 seconds, they rank 12th of 16 SEC teams and eighth in overall pace.

In the two games they have lost, their opponents have forced Auburn by playing at their pace and have gotten into their legs, making a difference at the end of the game.

While Kentucky can’t match the top ten defense of Duke or Florida, they are capable of beating the Tigers on the boards. With Lamont Butler back at point, they could use the boards to get some runouts and create some explosive plays.

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Opposing Players to Watch

G Johni Broome 6-10, 240 lbs

  • 18.8 PPG (3rd in SEC)
  • 11.0 RPG (1st in SEC)
  • 2.5 BPG (1st in SEC)

G Chad Baker-Mazara 6-7, 180 lbs

  • 12.7 PPG
  • 2.5 APG
  • 25 years of age

G Denver Jones 6-4, 205 lbs

  • 11.0 PPG
  • 2.5 APG
  • 43.4% 3P

Kentucky Basketball vs. Auburn Tigers

Time: 1:00 PM ET on March 1st, 2025
Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Kentucky
TV Channel: ABC
Announcers: Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, and Jess Sims will call the fun.
Online Stream: You can stream the game online using ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | AU
Stats to Know: UK | AU
KenPom: UK | AU
Team Sheet: UK | AU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the back, so check back Friday. EvanMiya is the most optimistic in the Cats’ chances…at just 38.3%. KenPom is the most pessimistic at 33, while. ESPN is at 35.7%, and BartTorvik has it at 34%.

Predictions: EvanMiya has an 82-79 win for Auburn. Haslametrics has it at 85-78 in favor of the Tigers. BartTorvik (87-82) and KenPom (86-81) both project narrow defeats for Kentucky. Auburn has lost just one game in SEC play and looks like the best team in the nation. Kentucky has a chance, especially if Butler and Robinson both play, but I don’t think they pull it off. Auburn, 86-79.

Send us your Kentucky vs. Auburn score predictions in the comments section!

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Go CATS!

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Guard Kerr Kriisa Enters Transfer Portal

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After one season with the Wildcats, Kentucky guard Kerr Kriisa enters the transfer portal.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The first domino of the Kentucky basketball offseason has fallen, as Kerr Kriisa has entered the transfer portal after receiving a medical redshirt.

Kriisa was an early fan favorite due to his energetic style of play and outgoing personality, but he appeared in just nine games for Kentucky this season after suffering a Jones fracture, which ultimately ended his season. He averaged 4.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds.

His last moment in a Kentucky uniform, was him getting back to play defense with that Jones fracture, and that says a lot about who Kerr Kriisa is.

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Following the Wildcats’ Sweet Sixteen loss to Tennessee, he was in tears when talking to KY Insider.

“We brought the joy back to Kentucky,” Kriisa said. “To watch a group play, that plays for each other. That would take a bullet for each other. I’m just so sad.”

Krissa loved this team and he gave it all for the Cats when he was on the court this season.

Kriisa enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.

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Men's Basketball

Can Kentucky Take Down Tennessee for the Third Time This Season? Here is What History Says

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Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball over Tennessee Volunteers.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The Kentucky Wildcats will face-off with the Tennessee Volunteers for the third time this season in the Sweet Sixteen, where Kentucky won each of the first two matchups. 

Head Coach Mark Pope and the heart-filled ‘Cats will look to beat Tennessee for the third time in a single season for the first time since 2005.

While previewing the game, Pope had nothing but nice things to say about the rival Volunteers. 

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“If we really parse details, there’s certainly the emotional advantage of winning two that you feel like you know you can,” said Pope. “This is a great Tennessee team. It’s one of the top teams in the country. It’s the best defensive team in the country.” 

Pope, frankly, is right. The No. 2 seed rivals allow only 62.9 points per game, ranking eighth in the nation and hold one of the best defensive efficiency ratings in the nation. 

Although these stats haven’t really translated against the Wildcats this season, when it’s March, everything goes out of the door. 

It’s hard to beat a team three times. We know it, and legends have admitted it.

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North Carolina vs. Duke (2024-25) 

North Carolina’s Dean Smith wrote in his memoir that “It was extremely hard to beat a good team three times in a row.” Look at his Tar Heels recently, who faced off against the Duke Blue Devils three times this season. Duke, by a landslide, was the better team all year, hinting at why the Cooper Flagg led team is still dancing.

Duke beat the Tar Heels by double-digit points in both of the regular season matchups, but in the ACC Tournament, no matter what the skill gap was, North Carolina outscored Duke 47-29 in the second half and would only lose by three points. 

When comparing a team who had lost only three games to one who had lost 13, you would think the score would be a landslide again. However, it’s hard to beat a team three times. 

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Kentucky vs Auburn (2018-19) 

The Wildcats have experienced this downfall first hand in their last trip to the Elite Eight, where the No. 5 seed Auburn Tigers defeated them 77-71 in a heartbreaker. 

Kentucky had defeated the Tigers on the road 82-80 on Jan. 19 that year and would go on to blow them out by 27 points inside of Rupp Arena on Feb. 23.

Tyler Herro and Reid Travis would only combine for 16 points in the Elite Eight loss and Kentucky was sent home. 

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Are we making some connections here? 

Michigan State vs. Maryland (2021-22) 

After Michigan State defeated Maryland on March 6 by a score of 77-67, this win would ironically, set up a rematch in the Big Ten Tournament the same week. 

After scraping by on the road earlier in the season by two points, and now beating them once again, Head Coach Tom Izzo would comment on the topic, stating “Now you’ve got to beat a team three times, but it is what it is.”

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The No. 7 seed Spartans would scrape by once again, this time, by four points and would advance in the tournament.


Tonight, at approximately 7:39 p.m. ET, the ball will go in the air inside of Lucas Oil Stadium, and for 40 minutes, nothing else matters except surviving and advancing. 

However, that day old adage will linger in every Kentucky fan’s mind. 

“Can we actually beat Tennessee a third time?” 

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Men's Basketball

Andrew Carr on Kentucky Battling Adversity: “We’ve Gone Through a Lot This Year… It’s Certainly Made Us Stronger”

In the face of multiple injuries and ever-mounting pressure, Andrew Carr insists that the ‘Cats have only been made stronger.

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entucky Wildcats forward Andrew Carr (7) reacts during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Benny Sieu | Imagn

All throughout the 2024-25′ season, there were innumerable intervals at which things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. Between consistent and recurring injuries sustained across the team’s core rotation to questions of bench strength, road resilience and minutes attribution, the horizon has been hazy more often than not.

And yet, the Wildcats are slated to play in Indianapolis this weekend in their first Sweet 16 since 2019. How is that?

Well, according to starting forward Andrew Carr, the hardships he and the team have endured only worked to make them stronger. “We’ve gone through a lot this year,” he said, following the Round of 32 win over six-seed Illinois. “It’s certainly made us stronger.”

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Carr, who finished with four points, six rebounds and two assists in the 84-75 victory, was among the team’s question marks earlier in the season, missing an extended period with back spasms and only returning in slowly increasing spurts.

Since his return, he’s played a crucial, starting role in the ‘Cats late-season run, winning six of their last seven games on the way to a second weekend appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

“I don’t think we’d be as successful as we are right now if we didn’t go through all those things.”

Where Kentucky would be given a fully healthy roster right now is a tantalizing question; though, to Carr’s point, it simply isn’t worth asking. The ‘Cats left to scratch are doing so at a higher level than ever.

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Their aforementioned strength will be tested once more on Friday as Kentucky faces off against the Tennessee Volunteers for the third time this season, looking to complete the season sweep and advance to the Elite Eight.

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