LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Winning at Auburn against a team many say is the best in the nation was certain to be a daunting assignment for the University of Kentucky men's basketball team Saturday afternoon.
Doing it without guard TyTy Washington for the final 28-plus minutes and then without Sahvir Wheeler for two stretches in the second half?
That was an unreasonable and unworkable ask for the Wildcats.
Ahead by nine points after Washington floated into the lane to make his second and final basket with 8:20 to play in the first half, the Wildcats wobbled to the finish line without him and lost at No. 2 Auburn, 80-71.
"I don't think they're better than us, in my opinion," UK forward Oscar Tshiebwe said. "I want to play them again."
There were shot clock violations. There were struggles initiating offense.
There were problems defending Auburn center Walker Kessler, who punished the Wildcats with seven dunks.
There were a string of fouls that let Auburn feast at the foul line, where the Tigers outscored the Wildcats, 24-8. There were other defensive issues that led to Auburn making 57% of its shots.
"Auburn is a great team," UK guard Kellan Grady said. "There's a reason it was such a hyped game. It was a dogfight. It was close for 30 minutes."
"It was a really tough lacrosse game," said UK coach John Calipari, which might have been a commentary about the game's physical nature instead of a mention of the wrong sport.
But Kentucky's biggest issue was navigating Auburn's aggressive defense without Washington, the Wildcats most complete guard. (Calipari said after the game that he was not certain about the extent of the injury or Washington's availability next week.)
Kentucky led 25-16 when Washington exited. He fell to the court and grabbed his left foot, which appeared to land on Tshiebwe when he came down from making a 10-footer. The Wildcats failed to score on five of their next seven possessions. Twice UK was whistled for a shot clock violation
That was Kentucky's final 9-point lead. By halftime Auburn closed the margin to 33-29. Auburn tied it the first four minutes of the second half and then went ahead (45-40) on a six-point surge. The Tigers later built the lead to a dozen.
"We had our breakdowns defensively," Calipari said. "But TyTy is a playmaker. If he needs to go get a basket, he gets it. We don't have those guys."
Wheeler missed three minutes in the second half after he was knocked to the floor when he ran into a screen set by Kessler, who is 7 feet, 1 inch and nearly 250 pounds. Wheeler was blindsided by a screen in nearly the same way it happened at LSU on Jan. 4. Tshiebwe said that he tried to protect his teammate by calling out Kessler's presence.
"I did scream at him," Tshiebwe said. "It was too loud. He did not hear me and got hurt."
Wheeler missed the rest of the LSU game as well as the next two. This time he returned even though Calipari said that he tried to convince Wheeler to sit the rest of the game.
Incredibly, Wheeler was knocked down a second time with 1:14 to play on a collision in front of the UK bench. Wheeler ran into Kessler’s elbow while trying to drive to his right. This time Kessler was whistled for a foul.
Even with his time on the sidelines, Wheeler had 17 points, the same total as Grady. Tshiebwe continued his double-double habit with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Nobody else had more than a half-dozen as UK's bench was outscored 20-11.
"Other guys have to step up and show what they are or what they're not," Calipari said. "The big thing for me is there are no excuses. Own your performance."
Defensively, the Wildcats had no answer for Kessler, who made 8-of-10 shots and led Auburn with 19. Jabari Smith, a player many believe will be the first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, scored 14 for Auburn.
But Kentucky missed Washington on both ends of the floor. Auburn made 57% of its shots and got to the foul line 29 times. Washington finished with 4 points, 10 under his average.
"TyTy is a play maker for us," Grady said. "And a scorer. He's our second-leading scorer ... he's able to make plays for other guys. When you have playmakers on the court and you have finishers, that makes the game easier."
The loss dropped UK to 15-4 and 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference. The Wildcats are two games behind No. 2 Auburn, which is 7-0 in the league and 18-1 overall. The teams are not booked to play in Rupp Arena so Auburn would have the tiebreaker if the Wildcats pull even in the SEC standings.
After playing three of their last four on the road, the Wildcats return home to host Mississippi State Tuesday night in Rupp Arena. They’ll be back on the road for another difficult game at No. 7 Kansas next Saturday.
"You don't win championships in January," Grady said. "It's disappointing. We've got to move on and see how we can get better ... I think it's no secret we're one of the best teams in the country. We want to be our best in March."
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