No. 20 Auburn and its “Special K’s,” Kevin Overton and Keyshawn Hall, will face its toughest challenge to date against Jaden Bradley and No. 2 Arizona on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The Tigers (7-2) are coming off an 83-73 win Wednesday over NC State behind 11-of-16 shooting from 3-point range by Overton and Hall.
Arizona (7-0) is playing only its second game in the last 12 days. The Wildcats have practiced this week after hosting Norfolk State last Saturday.
The time between games has helped Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov recover after suffering a sprained ankle in the first half against Norfolk State.
The Wildcats achieved five victories, including over then-No. 3 Florida in Las Vegas, then-No. 15 UCLA in Inglewood, Calif., and at then-No. 3 UConn, in the first 16 days of the season.
They have played two home games — against Denver and Norfolk State — in the two-plus weeks leading up to the Auburn matchup. The Wildcats will take another week before facing No. 12 Alabama in Birmingham, Ala.
“Practice is important and preparation is important, but so is having game rhythm,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We’ve just got to figure out that fine balance of what those two things look like.”
Bradley, who started his career at Alabama, will face his former rival school with a burgeoning reputation for lighting up big names. He averaged 21.0 points on 56.8% shooting against Florida, UCLA and UConn.
Bradley’s defense in those games was equally impressive. He will guard Overton and Hall at times, but mostly he’ll match up against fellow point guard Tahaad Pettiford.
Bradley, averaging 14.3 points and a team-leading 1.9 steals per game, helped limit UConn’s Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. to a combined 2-of-10 shooting from 3-point range, UCLA’s Donovan Dent without a shot attempt from beyond the arc and Florida’s Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to a combined 3 of 13 on their 3-point attempts.
Bradley’s leadership as a senior also has helped Kharchenkov and fellow freshmen starters Koa Peat (team-leading 15.6 points per game) and Brayden Burries adjust to the college game.
“Jaden is Mr. Reliable, one of the best point guards in the country, hands down,” Lloyd said.
Overton and Hall combined to score 57 points, including 34 of the Tigers’ 42 points in the second half, in the win over NC State.
Overton made 8 of 13 shots from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, to finish with 29 points. He is third on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game.
He tied his career high with nine rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes.
“I am trying to be more aggressive,” Overton said. “I want to play smart and not be lackadaisical.”
Hall achieved his fourth double-double of the season with 28 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the field — including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Hall mentioned he feeds off Overton’s success.
“(Overton) gave me the confidence,” said Hall, who averages a team-leading 21.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. “They started guarding him. I’ve been using that as a blueprint for making shots all year.”
Auburn played last week in the Players Era Championship at Las Vegas, where it beat Oregon and then-No. 14 St. John’s and lost to then-No. 7 Michigan.
Auburn owns a 2-0 record over Arizona, with its most recent win over the Wildcats occurring in the 2018 Maui Invitational. The Tigers also beat the Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1986.
