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Saturday's SEC Tips
March 14, 2015
**Kentucky vs. Auburn**
-- Kentucky (32-0 straight up, 17-13-2 against the spread) advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals by beating Florida 64-49 as a 13.5-point favorite. Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Aaron Harrison also had 13 points. UK made 19-of-23 from the free-throw line to enjoy a 16-point advantage over UF at the stripe. The Gators were only given five trips to the line. UF pulled to within two early in the second half, only to see the Wildcats go on a 9-0 run to take their first double-digit lead with 14 minutes remaining. From there, it was a nail-biter for ATS purposes, with UK supporters cashing in despite being behind the number for the first 35-minutes (and change).
-- As of early this morning, most books had John Calipari's team favored by 23.5 points.
-- Auburn (15-19 SU, 15-15-1 ATS) will be playing for the fourth time in four days after improbably winning three in a row in Nashville. The Tigers knocked off Mississippi St. and Texas A&M before rallying to force overtime and eventually take out LSU by a 73-70 count as 10-point underdogs. Down by three with 5.5 seconds remaining and the ball on the sidelines coming out of a timeout, Bruce Pearl dialed up a gorgeous play with a pair of passes and a dribble handoff to K.T. Harrell, the senior and leading scorer in the SEC, who caught nothing but nylon on a 3-ball to force the extra session. With LSU playing OT without Jordan Mickey and Tim Quarterman after both fouled out, AU outscored LSU 9-6 to get the victory. LSU had had three chances to tie in the waning seconds. First, Keith Hornsby missed a pair of 3's, the second of which he rushed when he had more time to gather himself. After Hornsby's second miss, Harrell grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He missed both free throws, however, and LSU's shot at the buzzer would've forced a second OT, but it was off the mark.
-- Harrell scored 29 points against LSU despite getting only 11 shots from the field. He made 15-of-18 at the charity stripe and knocked down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Malcolm Canada was also in double figures with 14 points.
-- AU's Jordon Granger was ejected for throwing a punch at LSU's Jordan Mickey and (I presume) will undoubtedly be suspended for the Kentucky game. Granger averages 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, but his presence is more important than those stats indicate. For starters, he has size and without him, Pearl's nine-man rotation will be reduced to eight (a huge factor due to the fourth-game-in-four-days situation).
-- When these teams met at Rupp Arena on Feb. 21, UK ran AU out of the building early and often. UK raced out to a 23-2 lead and was up 52-26 at halftime. The 'Cats won the rebounding battle by a 44-22 margin, which is certainly an indicator of the size advantage UK will enjoy on Saturday. Towns scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Aaron Harrison added 18 points, while Dakari Johnson finished with 13. Andrew Harrison had 12 points and nine assists. In the losing effort, Antoine Mason had a season-high 29 points and four steals. Harrell finished with 17 points.
-- The 'over' is 17-12 overall for Auburn, but the 'under' has hit at a 6-1 clip in its last seven outings.
-- The 'under' is 19-13 overall for the 'Cats, but they have seen the 'over' go 9-4 in their last 13 games.
-- UK has been a double-digit 'chalk' 26 times this season, going 14-10-2 ATS.
-- Auburn has been an underdog 24 times this season, going 12-12 ATS.
--The SEC Network will have the broadcast at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
March 14, 2015
**Kentucky vs. Auburn**
-- Kentucky (32-0 straight up, 17-13-2 against the spread) advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals by beating Florida 64-49 as a 13.5-point favorite. Karl-Anthony Towns had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Aaron Harrison also had 13 points. UK made 19-of-23 from the free-throw line to enjoy a 16-point advantage over UF at the stripe. The Gators were only given five trips to the line. UF pulled to within two early in the second half, only to see the Wildcats go on a 9-0 run to take their first double-digit lead with 14 minutes remaining. From there, it was a nail-biter for ATS purposes, with UK supporters cashing in despite being behind the number for the first 35-minutes (and change).
-- As of early this morning, most books had John Calipari's team favored by 23.5 points.
-- Auburn (15-19 SU, 15-15-1 ATS) will be playing for the fourth time in four days after improbably winning three in a row in Nashville. The Tigers knocked off Mississippi St. and Texas A&M before rallying to force overtime and eventually take out LSU by a 73-70 count as 10-point underdogs. Down by three with 5.5 seconds remaining and the ball on the sidelines coming out of a timeout, Bruce Pearl dialed up a gorgeous play with a pair of passes and a dribble handoff to K.T. Harrell, the senior and leading scorer in the SEC, who caught nothing but nylon on a 3-ball to force the extra session. With LSU playing OT without Jordan Mickey and Tim Quarterman after both fouled out, AU outscored LSU 9-6 to get the victory. LSU had had three chances to tie in the waning seconds. First, Keith Hornsby missed a pair of 3's, the second of which he rushed when he had more time to gather himself. After Hornsby's second miss, Harrell grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He missed both free throws, however, and LSU's shot at the buzzer would've forced a second OT, but it was off the mark.
-- Harrell scored 29 points against LSU despite getting only 11 shots from the field. He made 15-of-18 at the charity stripe and knocked down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Malcolm Canada was also in double figures with 14 points.
-- AU's Jordon Granger was ejected for throwing a punch at LSU's Jordan Mickey and (I presume) will undoubtedly be suspended for the Kentucky game. Granger averages 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, but his presence is more important than those stats indicate. For starters, he has size and without him, Pearl's nine-man rotation will be reduced to eight (a huge factor due to the fourth-game-in-four-days situation).
-- When these teams met at Rupp Arena on Feb. 21, UK ran AU out of the building early and often. UK raced out to a 23-2 lead and was up 52-26 at halftime. The 'Cats won the rebounding battle by a 44-22 margin, which is certainly an indicator of the size advantage UK will enjoy on Saturday. Towns scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Aaron Harrison added 18 points, while Dakari Johnson finished with 13. Andrew Harrison had 12 points and nine assists. In the losing effort, Antoine Mason had a season-high 29 points and four steals. Harrell finished with 17 points.
-- The 'over' is 17-12 overall for Auburn, but the 'under' has hit at a 6-1 clip in its last seven outings.
-- The 'under' is 19-13 overall for the 'Cats, but they have seen the 'over' go 9-4 in their last 13 games.
-- UK has been a double-digit 'chalk' 26 times this season, going 14-10-2 ATS.
-- Auburn has been an underdog 24 times this season, going 12-12 ATS.
--The SEC Network will have the broadcast at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
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