“Fortune favors the brave.” This adage will decide who wins the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday. They appear to be quite equal teams at first glance. This has the critics divided since the Auburn are ranked at the fourteenth spot in the AP polls whereas the Kentucky occupy the eighth place. However, the Auburn has shown more maturity while battling it out in the conference games.

Determining who has the upper hand involves considering their all conference games. The Auburn didn’t look as great as the Kentucky until they performed in the conference games.

How have the Auburn performed?

The Auburn Tigers have won all their three South Eastern Conference matches. They have defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Louisiana State University Tigers. While they won against the Razorbacks by a blowout margin of 83-51, they decimated the Aggies by a 66-55 tally. The Auburn hammered the Razorbacks in both the halves.

In the first half, the Auburn smashed 37 whereas the Razorbacks responded with 30. During the second half, the Auburn let loose their demons throttling an exceptional 46 points while restricting the Razorbacks to a paltry 21. This was the first conference game that the Auburn had won. 

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For the Auburn, the most outstanding performance was given by their guard Chad Baker. Baker throttled a game-high 16 points. He followed it up with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Thus, Baker gave a comprehensive all-round performance against the Razorbacks. Another player to demonstrate exceptional skills was their forward Johni Broome.

Broome thrashed 14 points and nabbed 8 rebounds in the process. He was excellent with his offense and defense. The next players to support their core athletes were their forward Jaylin Williams and guard Tre Donaldson. Both thrashed an equal number of 11 points. With this match, the Razorbacks received blow since they were defeated at their home.

The Auburn won their next game against the Aggies when they smashed 66 points in response to the Aggies’ 55. Williams potted a game-high 22 points while their guard K.D. Johnson sloshed 14. Another player to touch double digits was Broome who scored 10 points. The Auburn has thus relied on mostly three or four players in their conference games. What has been instrumental in getting them wins is that the Auburn has rotated their players well, and their bench strength is commendable. The players possess the talent to outsmart their opponents on their day. 

The last game that the Auburn played in the conference was against the LSU Tigers. The Auburn outfoxed their opponents at home by a 93-78 margin. Four players stood out in this match for the Auburn. The highest points were besotted by Baker who soused an exemplary 19 and he was well assisted by Broome who notched 18 points . Their guard Aden Holloway was a surprising addition, scoring 13 points and lastly, it was Donaldson who dropped 10 points and helped his team.

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Thus in all the three conference games, the Auburn have demonstrated their strength of playing with four main players and rotating them well enough so that at least three or four of them are major scorers. They have also relied on the role of an alpha when the situation has demanded. The Kentucky are not ranked as high as Auburn in the conference games but trump the Auburn in the AP Poll’s rankings. This has barred fans from knowing the actual truth about who is better.

How has the Kentucky performed?

The Kentucky Wildcats on the other hand have lost 1 game while winning two in the SEC. They have won their contests against the Florida Gators and the Missouri Tigers but have lost against the Aggies. All three of their conference games have been high scoring, which says much about their offensive skills. They edged past the Gators by an 87-85 margin and demonstrated their survival skills in tough situations.

Their guard Antonio Reeves basketed a team-high 19 points while two of their guard Dajuan Wagner and Reed Sheppard scored 14 points each. Another of their forward, Tre Mitchell jumped on the bandwagon with a complementary 12 points. He also demonstrated his defensive skills nabbing 10 rebounds. Thus, he scored a double-double. Lastly, their forward Aaron Bradshaw also touched double digits with 10 points.

In their next game the Kentucky won against the Missouri by a decent margin of 90-77. Again five of their player stood up to the occasion with their center Rob Dillingham throttling a game-high 23 points. Mitchell again stood out for his astonishing offensive and defensive skills. He thrashed 20 points while also seizing 14 rebounds. Other than them, Wagner, Reeves, and Bradshaw smoked 16,14, and 10 points respectively.

The Kentucky have so far mostly played high-scoring games in the conference and have majorly relied on five of their players to do so. Their offensive skills have been remarkable and since they have played high-scoring games, their players have also gotten opportunities to display their rebounding skills. However, where the Kentucky have lacked in the conference games has been consistency.

The Kentucky lost their next game against the Aggies at the Reed Arena. For the Wildcats, the main performers in this game were Reeves, Wagner, Dillingham, and Sheppard. While Reeves stood out with his team-high of 22 points, Wagner smoked 18 points. The next players to perform at their best were Dillingham and Sheppard who each sloshed 15 and 13 points. Despite giving their all the Kentucky lost this game by a 92-97 margin. The high scores in this game are a testament to the fact that the Wildcats poor defense. They will have to improve their defensive tactics from here on. Summing it up gives a clearer picture and it wouldn’t be tough to know who has played better.

Who has played better – the Auburn or the Kentucky?

The Auburn have won all three games in the SEC whereas the Kentucky have won only two out of three. The Auburn is not known for their offensive skills whereas the Kentucky are famous for their offensive gameplays. They will clash against each other at the Auburn Arena on Wednesday. Both teams have their own weaknesses.

It remains to be seen if the Auburn can amp up their game supposedly they have a high-scoring match. Meanwhile, for the Kentucky it will be interesting to check if they can win a game based on their defense. If the Auburn are able to build a tight defensive wall then the Kentucky will also have to make sure they leak only a few points. But if the Kentucky are able to shift the game to their side by raking in points and taking a lead then the Auburn will have to get their fifth player talking.

The Kentucky are also ranked at eighth spot in the AP men’s basketball polls. Another important point to consider is if they will play at home or on the road. The Auburn looks to be a stronger team at their home whereas the Kentucky will have an edge in neutral and home venues.

If the Kentucky are able to attack from the word go and take an unassailable lead then they will surely be a better team given the Auburn lacks a fifth player and mostly only four players have performed in their games. However, much of it remains to be seen in the match.

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