Kentucky was fortunate to escape with a 5-point win today at Auburn after a sloppy performance where John Wall and Eric Bledsoe combined for 10 turnovers.
In what was probably his worst game as a collegian, Wall consistently over-penetrated and fell victim to a scrappy Auburn defense that got its hands in passing lanes and kicked and scratched Kentucky into 16 miscues as a team.
All in all, it was simply an ugly game for the Cats, underlining the type of Super Bowl effort Kentucky will see from opponents in every SEC game this year.
Auburn kept things interesting with good defense and some well timed three pointers. Ultimately, Kentucky had a little too much firepower for the Tigers, as Wall redeemed himself with clutch foul shooting and a dazzling driving layup in the game’s final two minutes.
What did we learn today?
- Calipari has shown himself to be a wizard in personnel management and player rotations. Around the 11:00 minute mark, with the Cats clinging to a 1-point lead, Cal gave DeAndre Liggins a short pep talk and then put him into the game for the first time since early in the first half. Liggins responded with a clutch three, a layup and a critical rebound to seal the win in the final minute.
- The closer than expected score illustrates the difficulty Kentucky will have if they want to make a run at a perfect season. Auburn came into the game at 9-8 and without a victory over a single notable opponent yet this season. Despite vastly inferior talent and being outsized, the Tigers kept their home crowd into the game and had the margin down to one possession with a minute to play.
- Kentucky again shot poorly from the free throw stripe and again failed to put away a lesser opponent after building a big double digit lead early on. These problems continue to plague the Cats, and along with the turnovers, seem to represent UK’s achilles heel.
- Daniel Orton only received 7 minutes today in a game where Cal obviously wanted to see more offense in the half court set. Stevenson and Harris were largely non-factors and Dodson missed several shots badly. We think the Cats will need to get better overall bench production and probably average around 20-25 points per game from Liggins, Orton and Dodson, with anything provided by the two seniors being a bonus.
