Auburn snaps 5-game losing streak, improves tournament hopes with hard-fought win over Kentucky
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Auburn basketball finally stopped the bleeding and scored a win over Kentucky last night, downing the Wildcats 75-74 in The Jungle. The Tigers, despite trailing with mere seconds to play, saw a tip-in from Elyjah Freeman fall through the hoop to end a 5-game losing streak.
And boy, was this a hard-fought win for the Tigers. Auburn was out-rebounded, wasn’t as efficient from the field and, as mentioned above, trailed with seconds to play. However, a controversial foul call on Kentucky’s Collin Chandler gave the Tigers another chance, leading to Freeman’s tip-in off a Keyshawn Murphy miss at the hoop.
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With that win, Auburn’s chances to reach the 68-team field have drastically increased. The Tigers have a 62% chance to do so according to Kalshi:
Auburn’s resume remains the very strangest in college basketball. The Tigers can boast wins over St. John’s, NC State, Arkansas, Florida and now Kentucky, but they’ve also lost 12 games on the season and sit at 15-12. The record is not indicative of an NCAA Tournament team, but if you watch them play, they’re absolutely deserving and truly one of the better offensive squads in the country. Steven Pearl’s squad fights, folks.
Might want to work on that defense, but man, do they fight.
The going will get easier for Auburn moving forward. After facing Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Alabama in recent weeks, the Tigers face off against Oklahoma, Ole Miss and LSU before facing the Crimson Tide to end the regular season. If the Tigers finish 3-1 in such games, they should be in good shape for a spot in the Field of 68.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
