Auburn vs Kentucky 1/22/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Kentucky Wildcats and the Auburn Tigers meet in college basketball action from the Auburn Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Kentucky Wildcats will look to build on a 64-58 win over Texas A&M last time out. Oscar Tshiebwe leads the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding with 16.1 PPG and 14.8 RPG, averaging a monster double-double per game while TyTy Washington Jr. has 14.2 PPG with 4.2 RPG and 4.6 APG. Kellan Grady has 11.4 PPG and Sahvir Wheeler has 10.4 PPG with a team-high 7.1 APG to lead Kentucky in assists this season. Keion Brooks Jr. also has 10.4 PPG to make up the group of double-digit scorers for Kentucky so far this season. As a team, Kentucky is averaging 82.9 PPG on 49.8% shooting from the field, 35.3% from three and 73.2% from the foul line while allowing 62.8 PPG on 39.9% shooting from the field and 29.7% from three this season.

The Auburn Tigers will try to add to an 83-60 win over Georgia in their last game. Jabari Smith leads the Tigers in scoring with 15.8 PPG along with 6.3 RPG while K.D. Johnson has 12.8 PPG and Wendell Green Jr. has 13.1 PPG with a team-high 5.1 APG to lead the Tigers in assists. Walker Kessler also has 10.3 PPG and a team-high 7.4 RPG to lead the Tigers on the glass and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Auburn so far this season. As a team, Auburn is averaging 82.9 PPG on 49.8% shooting from the field, 35.3% from three and 73.2% from the foul line while allowing 62.8 PPG on 39.9% shooting from the field and 29.7% from three this season.

Kentucky is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games against a team with a home winning percentage above .600 while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Auburn is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning record and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games while the over is 6-1 in their last 7 games against a team with a losing road record.

I get why one would make a case for the Wildcats as Kentucky’s really good and Oscar Tshiebwe is a game-changer. However, the Wildcats haven’t been overly convincing on the road and while Auburn doesn’t have a standout name necessarily, it’s a team that has a bunch of really solid players that can do everything well as a team. I think this is just a spot where another tough road environment takes a toll on Kentucky so I’ll side with Auburn in this one.