Kentucky entered Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon needing a win over Auburns to clinch John Calipari’s sixth SEC title and the program’s 49th. In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Tigers made a living at the free throw line and making UK pay for not locking up the defensive glass. In Lexington, the opposite happened.
The Wildcats collected 31 defensive rebounds compared to Auburn’s 12 offensive rebounds and the Wildcats were 27 of 33 from the free throw line while the Tigers were 13 of 22. The result was a 73-66 win for the home team as UK improved to 7-3 in Quadrant 1 games.