Kentucky is losing ugly, winning game in Auburn as Calipari’s discontent grows

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Shanna Lockwood / AU Athletics

Shanna Lockwood / AU Athletics

“We let one slip on the road.” That’s one thing John Calipari was right about on Saturday.

Days after Alabama deflated 14 three-pointers, it effectively took the shot away from the SEC’s second-best three-point shooting team, but it still wasn’t enough to leave Auburn Arena with a win. The Wildcats have now lost at Auburn for the fourth time in five years, after the UK’s 66-59 loss fell to 4-8. There hasn’t been a Kentucky team with a worse record in 12 games since Adolph Rupp became the Cats’ head coach.

The loss at Auburn is worse than the previous seven for a few reasons and John Calipari only made it worse in his post-game press conference. Before we get into that, here’s how it all unfolded.

Horrible first half

“Ugly” cannot quite accurately summarize the first half. The score was 2-2 at the first media timeout. Kentucky missed its first six shots. Auburn started 1-of-15 from the floor. Both teams did not miss a number of contested shots; neither of them could make a lay-up. Luckily, Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin entered the line-up and gave UK something offensive by taking a 9-2 advantage after 11 minutes. It all started with an emphatic finish on the edge by Allen.

Kentucky had the chance to run away with the game early on, but offensively failed to find a rhythm. At least they figured out who could get points, even if that wasn’t enough to earn the second half minute.

Where are Allen and Toppin?

It’s the question the BBN asked when neither player, who each scored the Cats with eight points in the first half, was on the hardwood at the start of the second half. It took Toppin more than four minutes to get into the game and more than six minutes for Allen to get some playing time. Why didn’t they play?

“I want to win every game I coach, but the other side is I’m not trying to take the heart away from anyone,” said Calipari, “so you can use them when they go three, four minutes and go.”

They only have a few minutes at a time. Allen had a cold before the last minute of the game and finished with eight second half minutes as the only player with a positive +/- over the last 20 minutes.

BJ Boston: Still not good

At the start of the season, the BBN’s fascination with Dontaie Allen seemed to stem from his status as a home state hero. Although the head coach still thinks that is the case, now fans want him to play because he is one of the few players who can actually shoot. The frustration is heightened when BJ Boston is the reason Allen is on the sidelines.

Boston scored five points, scoring just 2 of 9 field goals in 27 minutes of action. It’s not that he just isn’t helping – Boston hurts the team when he’s on the ground. He made five turns, two of which were in the most important part of the match. It’s one thing to give a player a long line. All that extra slack on Boston’s belt suffocates the rest of the team.

The turning point

Despite the Wildcats’ poor play, with ten minutes to play, they were even ahead by one and seemed to be making their way to victory. Then the officials fell for the flop since Chris Jones set the standard for terrible flops in 2015.

It’s safe to say that Mintz wasn’t happy with the call and shared it on his Instagram story after the match.

The play was judged for a blatant violation. Unlike the target of college football, officials cannot dispense with an unwise mistake. Sharife Cooper’s acting gave Auburn the ball and started a 16-5 run in the next five minutes fueled by transition points after a few turnovers in Boston. Despite a late push, this point turned out to change the game.

One final, impressive push

While Boston will draw the ire of most fans, Olivier Sarr was also a major part of the problem. Sarr was -15, the worst on the team, and uninspired on the post when the Tigers grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. Once Boston and Sarr were drawn, Kentucky made a push that was nearly enough to win.

Trailing ten points and five minutes to play, the Wildcats turned defense into attack. A few blocks led to transition lay-ups for Mintz and Askew to narrow the deficit. With one minute to play, Toppin just one BODY on an Auburn defender. Sadly, the nastiest Wildcat dunk of the season wasn’t called And One, but it turned it into a two-point game nonetheless.

Despite giving up a lay-up to Cooper for possession, Kentucky still had a chance. Askew made his first free throw, but then missed the second. The rebound was stopped by Keion Brooks. Rather than foul on one of the two Auburn defenders who flooded the British sophomores, officials shouted a jump ball. Possession went to Auburn, the Tigers made their free throws to end the game.

A harsh reality

Kentucky most likely will not make it to the NCAA tournament. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s the reality we have to accept after the loss at Auburn.

While the UK has been struggling at the Auburn Arena for the past five years, the Tigers are not a great basketball team. This was only their second SEC win of the season. Every owner of advanced statistics called this game a toss-up. This was a game that Kentucky had to win, they were in a position to win and failed to finish the job. John Calipari deserves all the blame for this loss.

Next week’s schedule will take it easy for the Wildcats. After that, four top 25 teams await. This team has done nothing to convince us that they can beat good teams and their head coach has done nothing to suggest that he will make significant changes to ensure the UK will not miss the NCAA tournament.

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