In two games at Rupp Arena this year – one against Kentucky and another in the NCAA Tournament – Miles Kelly has shined. The Auburn guard is 16-for-29 from three-point territory in those games, and he has one more ahead on Saturday in the Round of 32.
That’s quite the clip. When asked about it, Bruce Pearl cracked a joke about Mark Pope potentially angling to get Kelly to Lexington full-time.
Pearl joked Pope was trying to get Kelly another year of eligibility and to enter the transfer portal given his apparent love for playing at Rupp. Regardless, Pearl said the game plan for Saturday’s game against Creighton would be to make sure Kelly keeps getting those good looks.
From what I understand, Mark Pope is petitioning the NCAA to give him another year of eligibility to come after him in the transfer portal,” Pearl said Friday. “Because that’s what I would do if I was Kentucky’s coach. He’s loving what he’s seeing. We’ll get Miles open, and he’ll bang shots.”
Kelly helped lead the charge for Auburn in a victory over Kentucky in Lexington during the regular season. He dropped 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 9-of-14 from three-point territory. As if that wasn’t enough, he again lit it up from deep in March Madness in the opener against Alabama State. He had 23 points and hit seven of his 15 shots from downtown.
