by Auburn outscored Kentucky by 10 points in the second half, helping the Tigers pull off a 75-70 upset victory on Saturday at Auburn Arena.
Kentucky led 35-30 at the half, and the Wildcats were able to increase the lead to as many as 12 in the second half when Tyler Ulis hit a pair of free throws with 15:41 remaining.
At that point, Auburn (8-8, 2-3 SEC) assembled a 21-4 lead to take a 56-51 lead with 8:49 left.
But Kentucky (13-4, 3-2 SEC) would not go away quietly. The Wildcats rallied to take the lead back three times, the last coming when Ulis hit a layup with 1:42 left to make it 67-65.
But Auburn was able to close the game on a 10-3 run to beat Kentucky for the first time in 19 tries. Auburn’s last win over Kentucky came in 2000, when the Tigers were ranked fourth in the country.
Jamal Murray scored 20 points to lead Kentucky, while Tyler Ulis nearly compiled a triple-double, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Derek Willis (Arapaho Tribe) had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Kentucky.
Auburn’s Kareem Canty led all scorers with 26 points, while Tyler Harris had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday when the Wildcats visit Arkansas. That game is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.
