Sharife Cooper is a player UK will have to stop Saturday. (SEC Photo)
Bruce Pearl says if Auburn played like it did the first half at Vanderbilt Tuesday the Tigers “will be down 20 (points)” at Kentucky Saturday. Actually, maybe not.
Auburn scored only 23 first-half points at Vanderbilt and shot 22 percent from the field but got 50 in the second half to win 73-67. But think back to the first time Auburn and UK played and the Tigers won 66-59.
The Tigers only had 21 points in the first half and missed 15 of their first 16 shots and missed 15 of 17 3-pointers in the first half. Star freshman guard Sharif Cooper missed all eight shots he took. However, Auburn caught fire in the second half and outscored the Cats 45-34 to win.
Now the Tigers have a chance for their first series sweep EVER against Kentucky and first win in Rupp Arena since 1988. Auburn’s only other win in Rupp Arena came in 1983. Both times Sonny Smith — a coach many UK fans probably do not ever remember — was leading the Tigers.
Tennessee and coach Rick Barnes have owned UK in recent years. But Pearl would be 6-4 in the last 10 games against UK if the Tigers win Saturday. Tigers have already won a game in four consecutive seasons against UK for only the second time (the first was 1987-90) in school history. Pearl said it is “great for our fanbase to have that kind of legitimization” with wins over UK.
“We have had some success against Kentucky, but not at Rupp,” Pearl said. “I have not won at Rupp with this Auburn team and for good reason. They are really good. We gave it a shot last year. We had a really good game last year and a close game (73-66 loss). That is the closest we have come.”
Pearl thinks UK is playing better than it was the first time the teams met even if the Cats have lost four straight and seven of the last eight.
“They have always played hard. Coach Calipari gets his kids to absolutely play hard. There are a bunch of dudes on that team that will be playing in the NBA,” Pearl said.
Pearl has one of those dudes, too, in freshman point guard Sharife Cooper.
“It’s why you’ve got to have a great quarterback,” Pearl said. “Put it in their hands and, you know, let ’em make plays.”
He scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half at Vanderbilt. He accounted for 15 of Auburn’s 24 points in a seven-minute stretch and finished with seven assists and no turnovers as Auburn improved to 11-10 (5-7 SEC). He is averaging a team-high 20.2 points, 8.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. He has 11 points and eight assists in the first game against UK.
