Kentucky, and especially Rhyne Howard, proved too much for Auburn in Lexington as the Wildcats prevailed 90-62 in the regular season finale.
The Tigers shot it at a 35.4% clip, while the Volunteers shot it at a 32.8% clip. However, Tennessee has a big edge in both rebounding and free throw shooting. The Volunteers outrebounded Auburn 54 to 31 and grabbed 21 offensive boards.
The losing streak in Gainesville has reached 14. No. 2 Auburn overcame an anemic first half on offense to take a second half lead, but a barrage of threes late in the second half led by Tyree Appleby gave Florida a late lead and the Gators were able to get a last second stop to preserve a 63-62 win in the Swamp.
Walker Kessler shrugged off some early first half foul trouble to record his second triple-double of the season. Kessler becomes one of just five players in the history of the SEC to record multiple career triple-doubles.
Auburn (22-1, 10-0 SEC) led by as many as 15 in the first half, but the Bulldogs shot the ball at a 58.1% clip in the final 20 minutes to get back in it and neither team led by more than four points for the final 15:52 of the game.
Vanderbilt used a 22-2 run in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead, stretched their lead to 25 by halftime, and cruised in the second half to an 81-66 win.
Auburn improves to 9-10 (1-7 SEC) on the season, while Tennessee falls to 18-2 (7-1 SEC). Following the Tigers biggest home win in years, the Jungle stormed the court to celebrate with their team at midcourt.
Will it be the team who throttled two-loss North Carolina State or the team that lost to LSU and embattled coach Ed Orgeron? Auburn fans will also be interested in the answer to that question given the two teams battle on the gridiron this Saturday.
The Auburn defense kept the Tigers in the game throughout, but eventually the Tigers’ offensive woes doomed their hopes of a third straight win over a ranked SEC West foe.
While it is widely acknowledged as a hostile environment for road teams to play in, the Auburn Tigers (No. 13, 6-2, 3-1 SEC) have made Kyle Field their home away from home since Texas A&M joined the SEC.
Solutions by The State News
