AL.com’s Instant Analysis: Auburn upsets No. 14 Kentucky; fans storm court

“If you ask me, he moved by all the other ‘bigs.’ That’s my opinion”.

“You have to know that you’re at the peak of college basketball, and if you don’t have your mind set and nearly a little bit of arrogance to it, come in and, ‘I play for Kentucky and I’m better than anyone out here, ‘ ” Willis said.

“This is the reason why he came”, Pearl said, “and he delivered”.

“We’re fine”, he said.

“It’s just disappointing when stuff is being said – like a year ago we beat West Virginia by 100 (after there was stuff said pregame)”, he said. He said, shrugging off an 18-game losing streak in the series, Auburn was going to beat Kentucky. So goes the season for the No. 14/13 Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) as they prepare for a trip to Auburn (7-8, 1-3 SEC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Kentucky is coming off an uneven performance, but a win nonetheless, at home over Mississippi State. Kentucky went up two with just under two minutes left, but a coast-to-coast drive and layup by Canty tied it back up. I think we’re going to have a good chance.

Although defense is an ongoing concern, Calipari also seeks better production on the offensive end of the court.

This team isn’t as deep or as talented as some of the more recent Kentucky Wildcat teams, but that doesn’t mean they can’t put up another banner in Rupp Arena’s rafters.

“It’s 292 million to 1”, Calipari said on his radio show. “They’ll do it. They know what it’s like. We’ve still got our issues but this was a great program win”. It’s hard to see that improving to 2-3 in this game.

As has been the case for most of the season, the Wildcats got a solid out from the backcourt, led by Jamal Murray with 20 points, the fourth straight time and sixth in his career he’s finished with more than 20 points. Kareem Canty registered a team-high 16 points and dished out six of the team’s eight assists. Dunk the ball or make the free throws.

The smallest player on the team, 5-foot-9 Ulis, had plenty, per usual. “As long as you’re winning games and everything like that, you really don’t worry about it as much”. Auburn shot just 28 percent from the field in the first half, but they made six three-pointers to help keep the score close. I’d guess Bruce Pearl will gladly sign that check. “You just gotta have that edge over people, and tonight they brought it over us”. They’re switching stuff – sideline out, diamond press, pick-and-roll. When you’re at home – and you know they’re ready for us. “It’s just how it is”.

Willis played so well that at the end of the first half, Coach Cal called his number for a play that worked out perfectly, resulting in a 3-pointer that gave Kentucky a 35-30 lead at the break.

Barbee’s Auburn teams lost its four SEC Tournament games. “When they see moments like that, they say, ‘OK, our basketball program is competing in spite of injuries and challenges.’ It took special effort, but I wanted to be able to see that special celebration”. “AP (Alex Poythress) had a good game against Alabama”. And now all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Wait a minute, who is the next?’ You need another guy.