NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Everyone in Bridgestone Arena knew Kentucky had the advantage in every which way.Even Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said earlier this season UK was the only Southeastern Conference team his Tigers couldn’t beat. And that was before big man Cinmeon Bowers was suspended just before the two teams matched up in the SEC Tournament semifinals.Knowing that, the Wildcats had little doubt Auburn would try to turn the semifinal showdown into a slugfest. “That’s what they had to do to win,” Tyler Ulis said. “They had to try to get into a physical game with us and we just had to keep our heads, keep playing ball.”Fortunately for the Cats, Saturday wasn’t the first time they faced an opponent that tried to push them out of their game. And considering UK’s spotless 33-0 record after coasting past Auburn, 91-67, coping with that challenge hasn’t presented too much of a problem.”Teams try to be physical with us all the time,” Aaron Harrison said. “We just have to know you can’t let them push you around or anything. You just have to be smart about it and play physical back, of course. But you have to be smart about it.”The greatest test on that front came quickly, as 7-foot-2 Auburn freshman Trayvon Reed got in the face of 5-9 Tyler Ulis after UK forced a turnover with 13:31 left in the first half.”I was standing there,” Ulis said. “He kind of walked up and pushed me. I just reacted a little bit.”Ulis, not surprisingly considering his well-documented pickup scuffle with DeMarcus Cousins, didn’t back down. Officials separated the two before it escalated further and assessed technical fouls to both.”That’s his heart right there,” Willie Cauley-Stein said. “Coach said it in the interview. His heart is as big as a 7-footer. That just showed it right there.”With the diminutive Ulis toeing the line between keeping his cool and sticking up for himself, the almost exclusively blue-clad crowd was inspired.”Everybody just got really excited, pumped,” Ulis said. “Got the crowd into it and everybody had my back, obviously.”Once the exchange was done, Ulis went right back to going about his business.Per usual, his business included involving his teammates and taking care of the ball. Ulis took only three shots and scored six points, but he dished out six assists against two turnovers. What wasn’t so expected was Ulis’ work on the glass. He pulled down five rebounds – just two short of the team high – chasing down many of the long jumpers the Tigers missed.Asked to choose between the points and the rebounds, Ulis didn’t hesitate.”Five rebounds,” Ulis said. “Because six assists, that’s what I’m supposed to do. But the rebounds I really like being able to rebound at my position.”Cauley-Stein dominates on both endsFor once, Willie Cauley-Stein’s offense overshadowed his defense.The junior poured in 18 points, mixing in jump shots and post-up baskets with the highlight-reel dunks that have become his trademark. But see, his defense was still really good too.For more of his team-high 31 minutes, Cauley-Stein was the primary defender on Auburn star K.T. Harrell. The 6-4 guard made just 1-of-12 field goals and scored 13 points after averaging 24.3 points to lead Auburn’s unlikely run to the SEC Tournament semifinals.”Willie defended Harrell really well and it was pretty amazing to watch, actually,” Aaron Harrison said.In fact, Cauley-Stein credited his defense for sparking his big offensive day.”I think that’s what I was doing in the beginning of the year was just making sure, ‘Look, I’m going to lock down on defense and then if offense happens, then it happens.’ ” Cauley-Stein said. “Today it just happened. So that’s kind of my game plan going into the rest of these games.”If it means he’s going to keep playing defense the way he did on Harrell, that plan works for his teammates.”He’s just a different kind of athlete, really,” Harrison said. “I’m glad he’s on my team.”Cats tower over TigersOn paper, the size differential was substantial.It was even more pronounced when Kentucky and Auburn took the floor for the opening tip.Cauley-Stein noticed.”I’m not going to say what I really said,” Cauley-Stein said when he was asked his reaction. “Just wow, that’s what I’ll say.”With Bowers suspended, Auburn’s tallest starter stood 6-5. UK’s point guard, Andrew Harrison, is 6-6. The Cats took advantage, outrebounding the Tigers 39-25, and scoring 28 points in the paint to Auburn’s 18.Top seeds set to meet in title gameAfter an SEC Tournament full of upsets, the championship matchup that was supposed to happen has.Top-seeded UK and second-seeded Arkansas took care of business in the semifinals on Saturday, with the Razorbacks (26-7) winning a defensive battle against Georgia, 60-49.”We get a chance to go to the championship game,” Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said. “That’s what we came up here for, and our guys are looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge of playing a great Kentucky team.”The two teams met just two weeks ago, with UK building a 31-point lead en route to an 84-67 victory. The Razorbacks said after the game they would jump at the chance to rematch with the Cats, and now they’ll get it.”Of course, they left a bad taste in our mouths, so we’re not shying away from the moment, we’re not shying away from playing them,” guard Michael Qualls said. “It just it happens like that. You just got to come out and focus on us and how we can be better and just play Arkansas-brand basketball.”Under Anderson, Arkansas is playing a similar brand of basketball to the one that made it an SEC power and UK’s top conference rival in the 1990s. The Cats and Hogs regularly matched up in the SEC Tournament then – UK is 7-1 against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament – but they have not played in it since 2001.”There’s been a tremendous history with Arkansas and Kentucky,” Anderson said. “And, of course, they’re playing at another level right now. So we look forward to the opportunity. We look forward to the challenge.”