Story and Image from UK Athletics/Guy Ramsey
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The college basketball world has gotten to know Auburn well these last three weeks.
PJ Washington needed no such introduction.
He has faced Auburn three times over his two seasons at Kentucky, so he knows well what the Tigers can do.
“We definitely know how they play and stuff like that,” Washington said. “We know they can make shots. Bryce Brown is a great 3-point shooter. So is Jared Harper. They definitely have guys that can play their roles, knock down 3s and can definitely guard the ball.”
The fifth-seeded Tigers (29-9) have used that style to torch the nets – and, usually, their opponents – with a remarkable run to close out the regular season, blitz through the SEC Tournament and race into an All-SEC Elite Eight matchup with No. 2 Kentucky (30-6) Sunday at 1:20 p.m. CT.
Auburn’s 11-game winning streak features a pair of wins over Tennessee, a second-round demolition of Kansas and a Sweet 16 domination of top-seeded North Carolina. The Tigers have made at least 12 3-pointers in seven straight games, including 42 total in their three NCAA Tournament wins.
“They’ve definitely earned their way to get here,” Reid Travis said. “They beat a couple great teams to get here. We know they can shoot the ball really well. We know who they are and stuff like that. We played them twice, so we definitely know their games.” Pre-game coverage begins at 11:30am on Lite Rock 98.7 WHOP-FM.