A week after it appeared that Kentucky was getting its frustrating season pointed in the right direction, the Wildcats appear to be back at square one.
Auburn used a 15-3 run midway through the second half to break open a close game and hung on for a 66-59 win over a visiting Kentucky club that continues to seek answers for its season-long offensive woes.
The Wildcats scored fewer than 65 points for the seventh time this season in dropping to 4-8 overall and 3-2 in SEC play. UK opened league play at 3-0 but suffered losses to Alabama and Auburn this week.
"We defended the way you defend to win games and no one wanted to shoot," UK coach John Calipari said. "They passed up (shots) until I yelled at them to shoot the ball. We missed wide-open shots and we had our chances. I’m disappointed.
"There are points in the game where I'm proud of these guys and there are other points in the game that I'm thinking, 'What in the world are we doing?'”
Kentucky shot 40% from the field and made just four of 17 attempts from the 3-point arc.
Auburn (8-6, 2-4 SEC) was even worse at 38% from the field and a 5-of-24 day from long range but was able to take advantage of UK's poor ball security. The Tigers scored 20 points off 18 turnovers by the Cats.
Allen Flanigan led Auburn with 21 points and nine rebounds. Devan Cambridge followed with 13 for the Tigers.
Elite freshman guard Sharife Cooper had his worst game to date (11 points, 3-of-13 shooting) but still dished out eight assists and gave the Tigers a nice spark during their second-half run.
Kentucky got 11 points from guard Davion Mintz and 10 from forward Jacob Toppin, the only two players in double figures for the Cats. Dontaie Allen scored a team-high eight points in the first half but oddly sat for most of the second half.
UK's starting frontcourt due, Olivier Sarr and Isaiah Jackson, combined for just eight points and six rebounds.
The Cats recorded only seven assists on the day.
“Basketball. We have to drive and find the open man," a dejected Toppin said. "Once we buy into team basketball and finding the open man, that's when we will start winning games.
“I think everyone is dialed in, but we have to become more consistent. Sometimes when we are playing, some players will go off and play 'me' basketball, and that's what we don't need. We will figure it out and stay consistent.”
*****
RAPID RECAP:
Kentucky held a 25-21 lead at the half, but it felt precarious for the Wildcats as Auburn shot just 24% from the field and missed 15 of their 17 shots from the 3-point arc. What should have been a comfortable, double-digit lead for UK was only four, and the Cats were never able to expand that during the first nine minutes of the second half. Auburn took control with a 15-3 run that featured five of the Cats' 18 turnovers. Kentucky battled back within two with 1:41 remaining but could never get over the hump.
GAME BALL:
Allen Flanigan, Auburn - The Tigers' wing scored a game-high 21 points to help Auburn compensate for a rough shooting night for star point guard Sharife Cooper. He went 8-for-8 at the free-throw line and also grabbed nine rebounds.
KEY STAT:
Auburn scored 20 points off 18 UK turnovers, including six straight in the decisive second-half run.
QUOTABLE:
"I want to win every game I coach, but on the other side, I'm not trying to take anyone's heart away. You can sub them three minutes in and go. We didn't start the half that bad. That wasn't the case. It's not like substituting a quarterback; he played a bad quarter so I’m going to play a different one. You don't coach that way." -- UK coach John Calipari when asked why his two most productive players in the first half, Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin, did not start the second half.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action Tuesday at Georgia. The Bulldogs (8-4, 1-4 SEC) won 78-74 on Saturday afternoon at Ole Miss. Tipoff for UK-UGA is slated for 7 ET on the SEC Network.
