KSR Today: Can Kentucky go for four straight wins?

What a difference a week-plus makes. Leading up to Kentucky’s trip to Starkville on Feb. 15, the Wildcats had just one Quad 1 victory and their NCAA Tournament hopes were hanging on by a thread. A miracle run to close out the regular season was the only clear path outside of winning the SEC Tournament in Nashville. The quality wins were there for the taking on paper, but nothing about the team’s recent play indicated a turnaround was on the horizon — no matter how much John Calipari tried speaking it into existence.

And then the Wildcats rattled off three straight Quad 1 wins at Mississippi State, vs. Tennessee and at Florida while adding a retroactive Quad 1 vs. Texas A&M — now the No. 2 seed in the SEC — back on Jan. 21. Now on Feb. 24 with three regular season games to go, the Wildcats are 5-7 in Quad 1 games and 5-0 in Quad 2, a fairly solid resume with room to grow. Clearly an at-large NCAA Tournament team, at minimum.

Up next, a date with Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers inside Rupp Arena on Saturday. Ranked No. 31 in the NET, the Tigers are technically a Quad 2, but could jump back to Quad 1 status with games at Alabama and vs. Tennessee to close out the regular season — assuming Kentucky takes care of business at home, of course. Then after a home matchup vs. Vanderbilt, a Quad 3 and must-win for the Wildcats, yet another Quad 1 on the road at Arkansas to wrap up the regular season.

An added bonus? Michigan is back up to No. 53 in the NET, right on the cusp of Quad 1 status, as well. The Wolverines need to slide into the top 50 (vs. Wisconsin, at Illinois, at Indiana) to make Kentucky’s neutral-site win in London on Dec. 4 jump up a level.

1-7 in Quad 1 opportunities back on Valentine’s Day, the Wildcats could somehow find themselves at 8-7 in that category going into the SEC Tournament. And then in Nashville, a chance to add anywhere from one to three Quad 1s depending on matchups and how long Kentucky’s run lasts.

“Talking us out of the NCAA Tournament does not work,” John Calipari said last week. “You either play yourself in or you play yourself out. … I’ve said all along we were going to break through.”

Sitting firmly in the field — now ranked anywhere from a No. 7 to No. 10 seed — Calipari was right.

What do you need to know about Auburn?

Like Kentucky, Auburn sits at 19-9 on the year with a similar resume — reminiscent of the Wildcats’ status about a week ago. 2-7 in Quad 1 games, 6-1 in Quad 2, 8-1 in Quad 3, 3-0 in Quad 4. Just one bad loss, but not a long list of great wins, either.

The Tigers are averaging 72.7 points on 44.4% shooting, 30.1% from three and 70.7% at the line while holding opponents to 65.1 points on just 39.3% shooting and 27.7% from three. A solid rebounding team, they pull down 37.5 boards per contest, including 25.4 on the defensive end of the floor. They also force 13.3 turnovers per contest, a margin of +0.7.

Individually, Auburn is led by Morehead State transfer Johni Broome at 14.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest, the team leader in all three categories. Guard Wendell Green Jr., formerly of Eastern Kentucky, is second on the team with 13.9 points and a team-leading 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Forward Jaylin Williams rounds out double-digit scorers at 11.0 points to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals.

As a team, the Tigers started hot in the SEC (and overall), jumping out to a 16-3 record to open the year and 6-1 in league play. Since then, they’ve dropped six of their last nine, with their lone wins coming vs. Georgia, Missouri and Ole Miss — all home matchups. They haven’t won away from home since beating South Carolina 81-66 in Columbia on Jan. 21.

Viewing Info, Odds and Predictions

• Date: 4 p.m. ET, Saturday, Feb. 25
• Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)
• TV Channel: CBS
• Stream: CBS Sports, CBS Sports App
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens are on the call for UK Sports Network (630 WLAP, 840 WHAS)
• Odds: The official spread has not yet been released, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a 66.5% chance to pull off the win. KenPom favors the home team, as well, giving the Wildcats a 58% chance to win while predicting a 72-70 final score. Bart Torvik also likes UK, predicting a 72-70 win (-1.3) with a 55% chance for the ‘Cats to win their fourth straight.

Wildcats preview Tigers

Before hosting the Tigers, the Wildcats are set to break down their upcoming opponent in a media opportunity scheduled for this morning. Select players will speak at the podium inside Memorial Coliseum starting at noon ET, discussing the team’s three-game winning streak and what they have to do to keep it rolling vs. Auburn on Saturday.

KSR will be there in person, with coverage on the website to follow throughout the afternoon.

Bruce Pearl previews Kentucky (kind of)

If you’re looking for the fiery Auburn coach’s in-depth thoughts on the Wildcats and keys to the game, you won’t find them here (or anywhere). Pearl had exactly four things to say about Kentucky during his pregame press conference on Thursday:

• “Kentucky is bigger, stronger and more athletic. We’re going to be up there in Rupp against probably the biggest, best offensive rebounding team in the league. We rebound like we did (vs. Ole Miss) and we’ll get beat by 40.“
• Kentucky is a great rebounding team. … There are great matchups everywhere.”
• “(Oscar Tshiebwe) is back. He’s a handful. He’s the best rebounder in college basketball. He’s shooting the ball well.”
• “We haven’t won there in 35 years, but we remind them we’ve beaten them four of the last six.”

Sources Say breaks down the NCAA Tournament resume

What went right for the Wildcats in Gainesville? How do things look big-picture as we inch closer to March Madness? The Sources Say crew went live on the KSR YouTube page to break it all down on Thursday.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Would you welcome Rick Pitino back to Rupp Arena?

Kentucky invited its legendary ’96, ’97 and ’98 teams back to Rupp Arena for a reunion last weekend, one featuring some of the program’s most iconic figures. Among those missing? Coach Rick Pitino.

KSR’s Steven Peake asked the question we were all wondering during the halftime festivities vs. Tennessee: What would Pitino’s reception be had he returned? Would he be welcomed back? How many cheers vs. boos in the crowd?

The answers from BBN may surprise you.