Kentucky should advance past Auburn while the Arkansas Razorbacks will need great play from reigning SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis to beat the Georgia Bulldogs.
Auburn continued to surprise in the tournament under first year coach Bruce Pearl with a great overtime win over LSU on Friday, thanks in no small part to the play senior guard KT Harrell, who had 29 points on just 11 shots. It was an upset few saw coming from a team that had only won four league games this season.
The reward for their great play? A meeting with the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals.
Auburn has gone further than anyone thought they would and should feel satisfied about their performance, which is a good thing since it's hard to imagine them pulling off another upset. Kentucky is too good and too big for the Tigers' undersized frontcourt.
The Wildcats are not only the regular season champions but also the top contender for the national championship thanks to their depth and the dominant inside play of Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein. You never know when a team will pull off the seemingly impossible but it's hard to imagine Auburn's season extending past Saturday.
On the other side of the bracket, the Arkansas Razorbacks will have their hands full with the Georgia Bulldogs. In their one meeting this season Arkansas prevailed as a result of 21 points SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis put up. They will need him playing at a high level to move past a Georgia team that relies on a balanced attack.
Containing Portis and the high-flying Michael Qualls will be a tall order but that's what the Bulldogs will need to do if they hope to advance. The winner will likely have to face Kentucky in the finals.
Georgia played the Wildcats tough just a couple of weeks ago and could have a better shot at pulling off the upset, but the Razorbacks will surely want another crack at the No. 1 team in the country.
Bracket
Saturday's schedule (all times Eastern)
No. 13 Auburn vs. No. 1 Kentucky -- 1 p.m.
No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Arkansas -- 3:25 p.m.
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