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It’s not every day that Kentucky is headed into a basketball game in which not a single expert believes they’ll come out victorious.
On Saturday, the No. 12 Wildcats will face the No. 2 Auburn Tigers on the road with very few predictions going their way. In fact, in a survey done by 247 Sports on Saturday morning, the game prediction tally favored the Tigers by an overwhelming 15-0. Kentucky has had their share of tight games on the road this season, with Auburn being the toughest task to date.
This Auburn team is loaded with veteran players surrounding star freshman Jabari Smith. While Kentucky has a similar roster build with their veterans around TyTy Washington, a crazed home crowd may just be the difference maker on Saturday afternoon. However, how many other coaches can you name that you’d rather have in your corner other than John Calipari? We’ll soon find out.
This is Auburn. pic.twitter.com/a2C5b4dCRl
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 22, 2022
Odds
According to Draftkings Sportsbook, Kentucky has opened as 3.5-point underdogs at Auburn. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index agrees, predicting Kentucky has a 43.4% chance of winning.
Betting Trends
Kentucky
- Kentucky is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
- Kentucky is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kentucky’s last 5 games on the road
- Kentucky is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Auburn
- Kentucky is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games when playing Auburn
- The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Kentucky’s last 20 games when playing Auburn
- Kentucky is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Auburn
- Kentucky is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against Auburn
- Kentucky is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Auburn
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Kentucky’s last 10 games when playing on the road against Auburn
Auburn
- Auburn is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Kentucky
- Auburn is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing Kentucky
- The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Auburn’s last 20 games when playing Kentucky
- Auburn is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kentucky
- Auburn is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kentucky
- Auburn is 5-12 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against Kentucky
- The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Auburn’s last 10 games when playing at home against Kentucky
Expert Picks
KenPom — Auburn 77, Kentucky 74
Barrtovik — Auburn 78, Kentucky 73
David Cobb — Auburn 76, Kentucky 71
Vegas Insider — Auburn 74, Kentucky 69
Bennett Durando — Auburn 79, Kentucky 77
Prediction
As mentioned before, Auburn’s roster features just one freshman: Jabari Smith. The 6’10 forward will be a point of emphasis for a Kentucky defense that has several lanky bodies to throw his way. On offense, Kentucky has run teams out of the gym with hot shooting from their guards and paint control from National Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe. While both of those could continue on Saturday, there’s just something that feels off about playing this game in Auburn.
Final Score: Auburn 74, Kentucky 68