SEC Network host reveals mind-blowing ticket prices for Auburn-Kentucky showdown
Auburn and Kentucky are two of the best men’s basketball teams in the SEC this season, so most of the attention around the league has been on them throughout the year.
With the Tigers and Wildcats – who are ranked No. 2 and No. 12, respectively, in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll – set to face off Saturday in Auburn, it’s not a surprise that ticket prices have skyrocketed.
As ESPN’s Peter Burns – a studio anchor for the SEC Network – shared, there are standing room only tickets for Saturday’s game at Auburn Arena going for over $250 on ticketing websites.
Burns said the Auburn-Kentucky matchup “might be the most hype SEC Hoops game in a decade” and added it’s “not bad for ‘just a football conference.'”
No. 2 Auburn (16-1 overall, 5-0 SEC) and No. 12 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1) are scheduled to tipoff at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday on CBS. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the Tigers a 57% chance to beat the Wildcats.
Bruce Pearl on possibility of Auburn being ranked No. 1
Following Auburn’s latest outing, an 80-71 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, head coach Bruce Pearl was asked what it would mean for the Tigers to be ranked No. 1.
“We’ve been managing the target a little bit for the last week or so because we’ve kind of put ourselves in a position all of a sudden where we started climbing the rankings a little bit,” Pearl said. “Look, we’re going to get beat. And when we get beat, it’s not because we rested on our laurels or started to pay attention to the media. Ole Miss was good enough to beat us and made good enough plays to beat us. They outplayed us for the first 18 minutes of that game.
“But, at the same time, it is historic, and it does matter, and it does mean something. That will be a proud moment for Auburn – period. Our university and our athletic department. I understand that it doesn’t mean much right now, but it still makes a very strong statement.”
Auburn – which has just one loss to UConn, a double-overtime setback on Nov. 24 in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament – returns to action Wednesday at home against Georgia. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.