The No. 1 Auburn Tigers secured a 94-78 victory over the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday afternoon, but they did so without their starting point guard, Denver Jones, for most of the game. Jones was forced to leave the court after just eight minutes due to an injury. However, head coach Bruce Pearl remained optimistic after receiving the post-game report.
“Denver Jones played only 11 minutes,” Pearl said. “He’s our starting point guard and our best defender. He just couldn’t go. The good news is, it was just a bone bruise, as confirmed by the X-ray. He’ll recover from it. He’s a tough kid, and I was worried it might be something more serious.”
Auburn hadn’t won in Rupp Arena since 1988, and doing so without their starting point guard highlights the depth, talent, and resilience of Pearl’s top-ranked team.
In Jones’s absence, the guards stepped up, with Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome contributing just nine points on nine shots. Auburn’s three-guard system thrived, as starters Chad Baker-Mazar and Miles Kelly picked up the slack, scoring 22 and 30 points, respectively. Freshman Tahaad Pettifordre played 33 minutes off the bench and added 21 points. Kelly was particularly lethal from beyond the arc, making 9 of 14 three-point attempts (64.3%).
https://x.com/CBBAnalytics/status/1895936351725601010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1895936351725601010%7Ctwgr%5E465dd835f695ba427243a49827fff5314924f938%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fcollege%2Fauburn%2Finjury-update-auburn-tigers-starting-pg-denver-jones-01jnbb1wm352
“We knew we had to make shots against Kentucky,” Pearl said, referring to his guards’ outside shooting. “Why? Because if you go inside, throw up some shots, and they block them, then they get out in transition, that’s when the Wildcats are at their best. They’re excellent in transition. So we focused on running our offense, limiting turnovers, and taking some difficult shots with good spacing. And, of course, Miles Kelly was able to make a couple of those tough shots.”
https://x.com/AuburnMBB/status/1895901791402815965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1895901791402815965%7Ctwgr%5E465dd835f695ba427243a49827fff5314924f938%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fcollege%2Fauburn%2Finjury-update-auburn-tigers-starting-pg-denver-jones-01jnbb1wm352
The Tigers don’t need to rush Denver Jones back into the lineup. They’ve already shown they can win without him, and more importantly, they secured the SEC Championship on Saturday with their victory at Rupp. With two regular-season games left against Texas A&M and Alabama, their focus now shifts to securing the best No. 1 seed they can.
As March approaches, the Auburn Tigers are building a remarkable resume. They’ve won games without Johni Broome, triumphed at Rupp Arena, and clinched the toughest conference in the country with two games still remaining. They’ve defeated four of the nine other teams in the top 10, won games inside with Broome and outside with their shooting, excelled in shootouts, and grinded out victories with strong defense.
They just keep winning.
While their ultimate measure will come from their performance in the NCAA Tournament, the 2024/25 Auburn Tigers have already put together the most impressive four months of basketball in the program’s history.
