KENTUCKY (12-3, 1-0 SEC)
vs. Auburn (11-5, 1-0 SEC)
Wednesday, January 10 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000) ? Lexington, Ky.
TV: Lincoln Financial Sports
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Riding an eight-game win streak, including a 68-58 win at Ole Miss in the SEC opener, Kentucky returns home to host the Auburn Tigers in the Cats? conference home-opener.
The Wildcats have not lost in over a month, finishing the month of December 6-0 after dropping its first game of the month against North Carolina. UK is also 2-0 in the New Year with wins over Houston and Ole Miss.
Kentucky owns an 80-17 all-time record against Auburn, including a 41-2 mark against the Tigers in Lexington (21-2 in Rupp Arena).
The Wildcats continued their defensive mastery in their last outing against Ole Miss, holding the Rebels to 39 percent shooting from the field and only 58 points. Kentucky also outshot their opponent for the 10th straight game, hitting 57 percent from the field.
UK enters the game with 395 all-time wins at Rupp Arena.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – JAN. 9
Head Coach Tubby Smith
Opening statement ?
?This week has been very busy as we are trying to get ready for Auburn. We spent some time on the court yesterday and they had some time Sunday to watch some film. The week?s practices are going better, since we are playing better. Looking back at the Ole Miss game, I thought we did some good things and made some shots. I thought we need to do a better job taking care of the basketball. Ole Miss is a good basketball team. After breaking down the film, we could have taken advantage of some of their defensive breakdowns and we didn?t. That is what we have worked on the last couple of days, getting our guards to look to move the ball up the court, pitch it ahead, or throw the ball inside when people are open.
?Auburn is a very talented team. [Auburn head coach] Jeff Lebo?s team has been shooting the ball better. I thought they shot the ball better and made some threes. Plus, they always are looking to change defenses; with their athleticism, quick hands, and length they are a team that can do a lot of damage defensively. They are forcing about 17 or 18 turnovers a game. Quantez Robertson is leading the league in assists and Korvotney Barber is a leading field-goal shooter. They have some depth and they play a lot of guys, so it will be a real test for us to try to match their athleticism. Even though they are a fairly young team, they are a very talented team.?
On seeing more zone defenses out of opponents this season ?
?I think most teams play a lot of zone right now, because guys are so skilled individually, not just against us but against everybody. I think you see it if you watch any games at all, people are playing zone more then they have been. We are going to see zone until we start making more outside shots. I thought Joe [Crawford] and Ramel [Bradley] stepping up and knocking down some outside shots against Ole Miss was a key to us getting the win. You have to make shots whether they are in zone or man-to-man. Zone allows them to pack it back inside and keep someone back around Randolph [Morris]. Ole Miss trapped Randolph out of the man and out of the zone. Auburn will do a lot of trapping but that is just their style of play.?
On rotating Bobby Perry in the lineup ?
?We have considered that. You look at his numbers and his minutes are down. It is not like he is turning the ball over a lot, he just isn?t making shots. We are winning with it this way, so he is going to stay in the lineup.?
On limiting transition baskets on defense ?
?We are doing okay and we could do better. We have got to get better at it. We have worked on it in practice everyday so it is not like we don?t work on it. Usually it happens in transition when you are broken down. Looking back at Ole miss and [Rebel guard] Todd Abernethy they just kind of went around us, they got a lot of lay-ups on us. We have got to do a much better job there. But we have played teams that have been looking to do that. Houston looked to do it, Ole Miss looked to do it, and now Auburn will look to do that. That is their style of play and we just need to adjust to it. We adjusted enough to get the win at Ole Miss but not as much as we would like to.?
On the depth of the Southeastern Conference ?
?This is always the strongest league in my opinion in the country. Recruiting it over the last few years, I would say the SEC is a very balanced league. I look at Ole Miss and they are a pretty talented team, they are going to win a lot of games – they already have won 11 games. And with Arkansas beating Alabama the way they did, it is just a good all around league with a lot of talented players. I think it is a very balanced league.?
On Randolph Morris becoming a better passer ?
?Randolph is maturing a lot. He is really understanding how to play the game. He came out of high school and that was a big transition, plus he missed some of last year. So he is starting to come around and Randolph having played with the same guys for three years really helps too. His teammates know where to cut and they feel confident that he can find them if they get open or if he gets double teamed.?
Kentucky Player
#33 Randolph Morris
On his reaction to Coach Tubby Smith saying the team didn?t deserve to be in the top-25?
?He has a lot of insight and experience into those things. We don?t have a signature win so far, so that argument certainly has validity. All of our losses have come to teams in the top-25. We need to come out and play well in the SEC and against top-25 teams and then maybe we can break into the polls.?
On how he is responding to teams double-teaming him in the post?
?Right now, I am not tired of it. It opens the floor up more and allows other people to get more open shots from the wing. It gives our team more to play with and allows me to develop more of a post presence.?
On what it is like to guard a smaller team like Auburn?
?It is definitely easier to guard bigger guys. It?s easier to post up against bigger guys. It?s tougher against smaller guys because they?re quicker. I can still use my strength to my advantage and shoot over them. It?s all about how we approach matching up with our opponents.?
On whether he is satisfied with his rebounding?
?Good rebounding is always important. You can?t rebound too much or over-rebound. You can never be satisfied; you just have to keep working out there.?
