Auburn rallied from a nine-point deficit early in the second half to claim a pivotal 75-74 win over Kentucky at home and boost its NCAA Tournament hopes. KeyShawn Murphy scored 17 of his career-high 25 points after halftime and Auburn got a tip-in from Elyjah Freeman with 1.2 seconds to play to claim the win and end a five-game losing streak.
Kentucky led 39-35 at halftime and stretched its edge to 46-37 on a Otega Oweh dunk with 17:53 to play. Auburn rallied to pull even at 53 on a driving layup from Murphy and stretched the lead to 66-60 with 3:35 to play on a dunk from Murphy. Kentucky (17-10, 8-6 SEC) rallied back to claim a 74-71 lead with 18.8 seconds to play, but Auburn scored the game’s final four points.
Auburn (15-12, 6-8) pulled within 74-73 on a pair of Tahaad Pettiford free throws with 14 seconds left, then regained possession after an offensive foul on Kentucky’s Collin Chandler. Kevin Overton missed a shot in the lane on Auburn’s final possession, and after Murphy missed a tip-in, Freeman connected on Auburn’s third try. Kentucky’s final possession ended in a deflected pass that prevented a shot.
Murphy led Auburn with 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting, with 10 rebounds. Freeman finished with 11 points. Overton added 10 points, and Keyshawn Hall tallied 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting but did add nine rebounds and seven assists.
Auburn was in jeopardy of sliding onto the NCAA Tournament bubble with a loss but likely gained a bit of breathing room with the victory.
Kentucky lost its third straight game. Oweh paced Kentucky with 29 points, including 17 scored after halftime. Oweh shot 11-for-20 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen added 15 points while Chandler notched 10 points.
The Wildcats shot just 11-for-30 (36.7%) in the second half and had 14 turnovers in the game, including five by Chandler.
Auburn outscored the Wildcats 16-8 on bench points, including Freeman’s game-winner.
