Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Auburn: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

Published

1 year ago

February 16, 2024

Kentucky travels to Auburn for a tough SEC road matchup, looking to pull an upset.

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

After ending a three-game home skid with a win over Ole Miss, Kentucky Basketball will go on the road to “The Jungle” for one of their toughest games of the season, facing Bruce Pearl and the No. 13 Auburn Tigers with College GameDay in town.

While this Auburn team has seven players from last year’s squad who lost to Kentucky by 32 points last season, they are not the same team. This season, the Tigers have added 5-star guard Aden Holloway, who played alongside Rob Dillingham for much of his youth basketball career, Denver Jones, a 20 PPG scorer from FIU, and Chad Baker-Mazara, one of the top JUCO players in the country last season.

Together, they are a team that moves the ball very well and defends at a high level, ranking top 10 in both KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency.

Here’s what to watch for when Kentucky battles the Tigers.

Win the Boards

Good rebounding and physical teams are the ones that Kentucky has struggled with this season. SEC teams like South Carolina and Tennessee fit that bill, and in those games, it never really felt like Kentucky had a chance. Auburn is characterized in the same way.

Over the last few weeks, the Kentucky staff and players have talked about needing to improve their physicality and effort in rebounding. Saturday will provide the latest opportunity to see how the Wildcats perform against such a team.

With Tre Mitchell potentially out (more on that later), a lot will rely on the 7-footers, who will have to play with more physicality and make better decisions. However, the Tigers have a small backcourt, which Kentucky could take advantage of.

Stick to the Game Plan

This Kentucky team has struggled on the road. Outside of a blowout win against Vanderbilt, the Wildcats have won two other games by an average of just four points, and losing two others.

Auburn has yet to lose at home this season and has beaten SEC opponents by an average of more than 20 points at home, including a 40-point win against No. 11 South Carolina this week. With a sold-out College GameDay environment and an arena layout that makes it feel like the crowd is on top of you, it will be the most difficult environment Kentucky has played in this season.

In road games this season, Kentucky has let the crowd affect them, which has led to them playing outside of themselves and the scouting report. They cannot do that on Saturday. If they do, it could be an ugly loss.

Tre Mitchell Watch

Kentucky had a full and healthy roster for the first time this season and all of 24 minutes on Tuesday against Ole Miss, as Tre Mitchell checked out in the second half with a shoulder injury.

At the time of this article, his status is unclear, but it does not look promising for Saturday.

A leader on the court, Mitchell is someone that the younger players look to when things aren’t going right. When he is not out there, it’s easy to see that Kentucky misses that presence. However, the game will be played with or without him.

Could Justin Edwards continue his improvement and have a big game in his absence? Could Adou Thiero, who is throwing down 360 dunks in warmups as his back is feeling better, have a productive game like he did against Gonzaga?

More importantly, will guys like Ugonna Onyenso, Aaron Bradshaw, and/or Zvonimir Ivisic be able to step up in a hostile environment to help offset Mitchell being limited or out altogether? That will be a big key to Kentucky being capable of winning this game.

Opposing Players to Watch

F Johni Broome 6-10, 240 lbs

16.2 PPG (8th in SEC)

8.4 RPG (2nd in SEC)
2.4 BPG (2nd in SEC)

55.4% FG (2nd in SEC)

F Jaylin Williams 6-8, 245 lbs

13.4 PPG
4.9 RPG

42.6% 3P (9th in SEC)

G Tre Donaldson 6-3, 200 lbs

7.2 PPG
3.8 APG

2.5 RPG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Auburn Tigers

Time: 6 PM EST on Feb. 17th
Location: Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama

TV Channel: ESPN will have TV coverage.
Announcers: Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, and Jess Simms are calling the action.
Online Stream: Stream the game online using WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | AUB

Stats to Know: UK | AUB
KenPom: UK | AUB
Team Sheet: UK | AUB

Odds: The odds for the game have yet to be released, but check out SportsBetExpert for your picks. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Cats just a 14.9% chance of achieving victory. EvanMiya and BartTorvik are at 14.2% at 16%, respectively, while KenPom is at 18%.
Predictions: Bart Torvik picks Kentucky to lose 90-78. Haslametrics and EvanMiya has them losing 88-77 and 87-76. KenPom is the “nicest” with an 87-77 loss for the Cats.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Declares for NBA Draft, Maintains College Eligibility

Arguably the centerpiece of last year’s team, Otega Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft… but that doesn’t mean he’s officially gone.

Published

5 hours ago

April 16, 2025

Lane Mills

Otega Oweh declares for the NBA Draft whilst maintaining his college eligibility.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Few players have taken the Big Blue Nation by storm like Otega Oweh did with his arrival this past season. A lot was new in Lexington last year, but #00 stuck out for a number of reasons; namely, his infectious energy on the court and the high odds that he was going to put an opponent on a poster on any given night.

Now, Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft. He made the announcement on social media, calling Kentucky fans the “best fans in the world.”

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A post shared by To God Be The Glory💕 (@otegaoweh)

While this may seem dire for folks keeping tabs on next year’s roster, that last line in Oweh’s announcement is crucial: “…while maintaining my NCAA eligibility.” Essentially, Otega’s time in Lexington is far from over, at least for the time being.

Whether or not “Tegatron” returns to Rupp will likely depend on what he hears during the draft process, and where exactly he wants to land. In the modern college basketball landscape, it’s become common practice for players to “test the waters” in the draft, just to get an idea as to where they stand with the league, before returning to college for another year of development.

Take, for example, Jaxson Robinson just last season. Before his eventual transfer to Kentucky, Robinson declared for the draft out of BYU, maintaining his eligibility, before pulling from the process in order to spend his senior year at Kentucky. It happens all the time.

While that doesn’t necessarily set Oweh’s return in stone, it at least gives the Big Blue Nation to take a breather and keep calm, as his departure is far from official. Either way, #00 is a Lexington legend whose first go-around in Kentucky blue was as memorable as anyone’s could be. The “Oweh, Oweh, Oweh” chants will go on regardless.

Men's Basketball

Four Star Guard Visiting Kentucky Amidst Recruitment Rumors

Mark Pope is looking to close out a strong sophomore effort in the transfer portal, and this freshman guard may be the final piece.

Published

6 hours ago

April 16, 2025

Lane Mills

Four star guard Braydon Hawthorne is on a visit to Kentucky.

Braydon Hawthorne | WVU Athletics

As the transfer portal trucks on (and the NCAA races to find ways to regulate it), Mark Pope is looking to tie a bow on his already highly-ranked 2025-26′ roster. The latest potential addition becomes in the form of a freshman who, after pulling his commitment from West Virginia, will be on an official visit to Kentucky today, Wednesday, April 16.

Braydon Hawthorne, the 6’8″ guard at hand, is a lengthy, scoring wing with high upside on the offensive end. His 7’2″ wingspan opens opportunities for development on the defensive end, too – he’s an investment opportunity of the highest order. On3 currently has him at 48th on their ranking of 2025 recruits.

In addition to Kentucky and West Virginia (where Hawthorne is from), schools such as Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Marquette, Dayton, Old Dominion, Mount St. Mary’s, and more have thrown their hats into the ring, although the general consensus seems to be that Kentucky has the strongest pull/interest in the prospect for the time being.

Whether or not that actually means he’ll be in blue and white is unfortunately unsure – as that’s how the transfer portal operates – but an in-person visit is a good indicator of mutual interest. Plus, with Kentucky “losing out” on Lamar Wilkerson, who committed to Indiana, a scoring spot in the back court remains open… and Hawthorne is a compelling candidate to fill it.

While Wildcats fans wait patiently for a potential commitment, all eyes are on Coach Cody Fueger’s X account for a trademark “boom” post.

Men's Basketball

Brandon Garrison Announces Return To Kentucky For The 2025-26 Season

Published

4 days ago

April 12, 2025

Kai McClelland

Chet White | UK Athletics

Brandon Garrison isn’t going anywhere.

The 6-foot-10 forward will be returning to the Kentucky Wildcats for his junior season in the 2025-26 campaign.

Garrison took to social media first, posting a story on his personal Instagram that showed a simple graphic reading the words “I’m back.”

Brandon Garrison announces via his Instagram story that he will be returning to Kentucky for the 2025-26 season.#BBN #KentuckyWildcats #BrandonGarrison pic.twitter.com/AkDzaU4GAd— KY Insider (@KyInsider) April 12, 2025

Speculation and rumors have swirled around the Oklahoma native all offseason, and with the addition of Andrija Jelavic, Big Blue Nation worried that Garrison would be hitting the portal sooner than later.

Now, with his returning announcement public, Garrison will look to assert himself in the offseason as a dominant force that deserves the starting role.

Last season, he backed up Amari Williams, coming off of the bench and averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in just 17.3 minutes a night.

It’s unclear if he’s guaranteed anything in regards to a starting spot. However, having played a year already in Mark Pope’s system, Garrison may get a nod for the role over one of the transfer pickups.

Pope and the coaching staff have been publicly confident in the development of “BG” and see him as a vocal leader on and off the court.

With a full offseason ahead where he’ll be harnessing his skill set and bettering his game in any way possible, Kentucky fans will be glad that Garrison chose to stick around another year.