GAME NOTES: The Auburn Tigers will try to recover from an embarrassing loss to top-ranked Kentucky when they return home Tuesday to face the LSU Tigers in an SEC showdown at Auburn Arena.

Auburn dropped a 110-75 contest against the Wildcats at Rupp Arena Saturday as Kentucky made scoring on the Tigers' defense look easy. It was Auburn's second consecutive loss, and the team's fourth in its last five games. Now sitting at 4-10 against SEC competition, the Tigers will try to use a 9-6 home mark to gain an edge over LSU.

LSU, meanwhile, is trying to put together a strong end to the regular season before the conference tournament begins. The visiting Tigers are coming off a 70-63 win over Florida in Baton Rouge Saturday, which was the team's second victory in its last three games. LSU is 8-6 against league opponents, and owns a 6-3 record when playing away from home.

Auburn got the better of LSU in the first meeting this season with an 81-77 victory in Baton Rouge. That win for Auburn closed the gap in LSU's series advantage, which now sits at 83-65 all-time. Auburn has now won three of the past four games against LSU.

LSU pulled ahead of Florida early on in Saturday's SEC clash, and then was able to coast through the second half en route to a huge conference victory for the Tigers. The win was made possible largely by Jarell Martin, who dominated the Gators to the tune of 28 points and 13 rebounds. Martin connected on 8-of-15 shooting in the game, and made 11-of-16 at the free-throw line. He also threw down a between-the-legs dunk early in the contest to get the home crowd fired up. Jordan Mickey tallied 14 points, six boards and four blocked shots, and Keith Hornsby netted 12 points for the Tigers.

Mickey and Martin are a dynamic duo for LSU this season, evidenced by each player's standing on the conference statistical charts. Mickey leads LSU and ranks third in the league in scoring at 16.6 ppg, followed by Martin's 16.2 ppg which ranks fifth in the SEC. Mickey's 10.4 rpg is second in the conference, and Martin's 8.9 boards per outing rank third. Mickey owns the top spot in the SEC in blocked shots, swatting 3.8 shots per game. Hornsby (12.7 ppg) and Tim Quarterman (11.6 ppg) round out a group of double-digit scorers for the Tigers this season. LSU as a unit is netting 73.6 ppg on 45.5 percent shooting, and is allowing 67.2 ppg to opponents.

Playing defense against top-ranked Kentucky just didn't seem to be working on Saturday, as the Wildcats connected on 64.7 percent of their field-goal attempts in the contest, with five players for the hosts scoring in double figures. Auburn did everything it could on the offensive end, making 41.7 percent of its tries from the field with an 11-of-19 mark from 3-point range. Antoine Mason scored 29 points to lead the Tigers, while KT Harrell added 17 points in the lopsided loss. Cinmeon Bowers, who leads the conference in rebounding, only managed six points with five boards in 25 minutes of action.

Harrell paces the SEC in scoring this season with 17.9 ppg. He is connecting on 47.1 percent of his attempts from the floor, and is making a whopping 45.2 percent of his 3-point tries. Mason, the Niagara transfer, is scoring 15.6 ppg and Bowers averages a double-double this season at 12.8 ppg with 10.5 rpg - ranked first in the league ahead of LSU's Mickey in the rebounding category. Auburn's offense has been steady, averaging 68.9 ppg. But it's the team's defense that has faltered, allowing 72.0 ppg to opponents on 46.5 percent shooting from the field. That number wasn't helped in any way with the 110 points surrendered to Kentucky - the most points scored in a game by the Wildcats since the 2002 season.

Auburn might still be a bit shaken up after Saturday's whipping, but at least the Tigers return home to Auburn Arena to face LSU. It will be a battle of the big men, as Mickey and Martin take on Bowers.