Don’t look now but the Kentucky men’s basketball is suddenly a threat to win the Southeastern Conference tournament and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
The Wildcats dismantled Auburn, 86-54, before a packed house at Rupp Arena on Saturday, running their winning streak to four straight games and 20-9 overall.
Kentucky led by as many as 40 points, marking the third largest lead in any game this season.
Oscar Tshiebwe fired in 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds: his 16th double-double this year.
Jacob Toppin had 13 points and pulled down 12 boards to add a double double. Antonio Reeves finished with 21 points, including 18 in the second half. He hit four consecutive three-point shots.
Cason Wallace net 19 points and dished out nine assists.
Kentucky will close out the home schedule against Vanderbilt (16-13) on Wednesday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
At Lexington
SCORE BY HALVES:
AUB (19-10)…29 25 – 54
UK (20-9)….…40 46 – 86
Scoring:
Auburn (54) – Jaylin Williams 2(3) 0-0 13; Johni Broome 3(1) 3-5 12; Wendell Green Jr. 2(1) 2-2 9; Allen Flanigan 2 3-4 7; K.D. Johnson 2(1) 0-1 7; Dylan Cardwell 1 0-0 2; Tre Donaldson 0(1) 0-0 3; and Chris Moore 0 1-2 1. Totals: 12(7) 9-14 54.
Kentucky (86) – Jacob Toppin 5(1) 0-0 13; Chris Livingston 2 2-2 6; Oscar Tshiebwe 8 6-6 22; Antonio Reeves 4(4) 1-1 21; Cason Wallace 4(2) 5-6 19; Aduo Thiero 0(1) 0-0 3; and Lance Ware 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24(8) 14-15 86. Next up: Kentucky (20-9) vs. Vanderbilt (16-13), 7 p.m., March 1