LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome each scored in double figures Saturday, but Kentucky ran away from Auburn in the second half and beat the Tigers 86-54.
"We got beat in every facet of the game," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We weren't competitive. We were obviously ready to play because we played well early, but from the last four minutes of the first half all the way through the second half, it was a very poor performance and very poor effort. I apologize to our fans for such a letdown."
Auburn looked strong early as Broome traded blows with Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe. The sophomore big man drained a 3-pointer on the opening possession and then followed that with a pair of baskets inside to give the Tigers an early 9-6 lead.
Broome scored nine of his 12 points in the first half. He's now scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games and 13 of Auburn's 16 SEC games this season.
Tshiebwe finished with a game-high 22 points and 17 rebounds for Kentucky. He was one of four players to score in double figures and one of two with a double-double. Jacob Toppin also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
"Tshiebwe and Toppin physically had their way with us," Pearl said. "You look at the rebounding numbers, and we just got dominated on the boards."
Williams led Auburn with 13 points Saturday. The senior continued to find success beyond the arc, knocking down 3 of his 7 3-point attempts. He's now second to Wendell Green Jr. with 21 made 3s in conference play while shooting at a 35 percent clip (21 of 60).
Late in the first half, Williams had a putback dunk to make it a 1-point game (25-24), but that was as close as Auburn would get. Kentucky ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 40-29 advantage into the break and then outscored the Tigers 46-25 in the second half.
Wendell Green Jr. finished with nine points while guards Allen Flanigan and K.D. Johnson chipped in seven points apiece. All three players had a steal.
With the loss, Auburn moved to 19-10 and 9-7 in the SEC and is still tied for fifth in the conference with two games left in the regular season.
"We've got to regroup," Pearl said. "We've got to go to Alabama, and we've got Tennessee at home. We've got to win one of them at least."
The Tigers will travel to Tuscaloosa this week for a rematch against No. 2 Alabama on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT.KENTUCKY POSTGAME NOTES>> Kentucky improved to 97-23 in the all-time series with Auburn, including a 51-2 record when the game is played in Lexington. The Tigers had previously won four of the last six meetings between the two schools.
>> Jaylin Williams has now reached double figures in four of the team's last five games before halftime. He ended the contest with 13 points at Kentucky.
>> Johni Broome extended his double-digit scoring streak to four games with 12 points including a 3-pointer at Kentucky. It was his second career game against the Wildcats having played at Rupp Arena in his first collegiate game while at Morehead State.
>> The Tigers played in front of the second-largest road crowd of the season with 20,353 fans in attendance at Rupp Arena. They played in front of 21,678 fans at Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena on Feb. 4.
