Observations: Kentucky 82, Auburn 80

“You can’t give up 52 points in a half and expect to win a basketball game, let alone make history."

PG Sharife Cooper (Kentucky Athletics)

Auburn was 20 minutes away from making history Saturday.

The Tigers hadn’t beaten Kentucky in Rupp Arena since 1988. It only happened one other time, ever, in program history — 1983.

Auburn was up by six points at halftime Saturday against a struggling Kentucky team that continued to look frustrated on offense. Play another half like that one, and the Tigers would get a rare victory in Lexington and their first-ever season sweep of the Wildcats.

But the first half didn’t repeat itself, and it was much more kind to the host Wildcats. Auburn clawed back late and tied the game in the final minute, but it was unable to close the deal in an 82-80 loss at Kentucky.

Here are five Observations from the Tigers’ latest setback in the Bluegrass State, along with the Rotation Chart, a special edition of Nerd Stats and the Quote of the Day.

Auburn needs to set its hair on fire at halftime

Bruce Pearl got right to the point in his opening statement Saturday afternoon.