Jan. 11, 2000

LEXINGTON, Kty. (AP) – Kentucky knows it will have to be ready when the 20th-ranked Wildcats travelto Auburn to take on the fourth-ranked Tigers on Tuesday night in aSoutheastern Conference matchup.

The Wildcats (10-4, 1-0) have won six straight since losing four of five andtemporarily dropping from the Top 25 for the first time in nine years. OnSaturday, they rolled Vanderbilt, 72-52, setting the stage for what could verywell be a preview of the SEC title game.

“I think a lot will be learned from this game about our team,” said J.P.Blevins. “It will give us a chance to see where we stand. We have won six in arow and are feeling good, but this is a big game.”

The Tigers (13-1, 1-0) have won 11 straight games by playing excellentdefense. Auburn is holding its opponents to just 56.2 points per contest.

“Defense has been our strength during all of our games,” said ScottPohlman, who scored a team-high 14 points in a 67-52 victory over Georgia onSaturday. “When our offense doesn’t click our defense always does.”

The Tigers aren’t blowing teams out as much as last year, but they arelimiting opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the field, haveoutrebounded the opposition by a little more than nine per game, have forced 84more turnovers and have 65 more steals.

“We have to give a lot of credit to our defense,” Ellis said. “We forced27 turnovers (against Georgia). I was proud of the effort our team gave.”

Center Mamadou N’diaye had 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds while6-foot-5 guard Daymeon Fishback completely shut down Georgia go-to guy D.A.Layne, who scored 12 points, but turned the ball over eight times.

“Mamadou (N’Diaye) did a great job being active on both ends of thecourt,” Ellis said. “His play was vital to our team’s victory.

“The job I was most proud of though was Daymeon Fishback on D.A. Layne,”Ellis added. “I think this was the best basketball game he has played as anAuburn Tiger.”