Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

Kentucky’s game at Auburn on Wednesday shapes up as a competition of size versus speed.

Because of injuries, Auburn starts only one player taller than 6-foot-5. That’s Quan Prowell, a 6-8 player who the Tigers envisioned as a shooting guard.

UK doesn’t have the biggest front line. But the Cats have 6-8 Patrick Patterson, who contends for the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Plus 6-9 Perry Stevenson has been much improved of late.

“Quickness is much better than height any time,” said UK Coach Billy Gillispie, who noted how Auburn’s perimeter shooters can pressure an opponent. The Tigers have six players who have made 14 or more three-point baskets. UK has three, the leader being Ramel Bradley, whose status for the game is questionable.

Patterson gives Kentucky something Auburn lacks: an inside presence.

Kentucky’s game against South Carolina on Saturday comes four days after an emotional upset victory over No. 3 Tennessee. It sounds like a formula for a letdown.

But UK players and Coach Billy Gillispie said no.

“I don’t think so,” Gillispie said at a Friday news conference. “It was a great win for us. But we have such high respect (for South Carolina).”

UK, now 8-9 overall and 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference, is in no position to lord anything over an opponent, Gillispie said.

“If a few plays go the other way Tuesday night, we lose,” he said. “I don’t think they think they came in and annihilated anyone.”

Sophomore guard Derrick Jasper acknowledged some concern about a letdown.

“I was kind of worried at first,” he said. A good practice on Friday alleviated those concerns, he said.

South Carolina has a 9-9 record overall. The Gamecocks are 1-3 in the SEC.

Florida has beaten Kentucky six straight times. That makes the Gators the only Southeastern Conference program to make that claim againste the league’s flagship franchise.

If Florida wins Saturday’s game, a seventh straight victory would equal the record for any school. Notre Dame beat UK seven straight from 1936 through 1942.

UK Coach Billy Gillispie’s reaction: a shrug.

“I didn’t know about it till just now,” Gillispie said when asked about any motivation tied to ending the streak. “That should answer your question.”

UK has “unbelievable respect” for Florida, as it did for Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and all SEC opponents, Gillispie said.

For the game at Mississippi State on Tuesday night, Kentucky faces a defense that has posted cartoon-like numbers.

Opponents shot 22.9 percent overall and 14.7 percent from three-point range in the first two Southeastern Conference games.

Jarvis Varnado blocked 16 shots against Georgia.

But Kentucky won’t change its approach to try to deal with Varnado or State. “We went against Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) when he was a junior in high school,” UK Coach Billy Gillispie said. “He ended up with 20 blocks.” (Hear Gillispie’s pre-Mississippi State press conference.)

State’s shot blocking “is not going to be the determining mindset” for UK, Gillispie said. “If you try to change your mindset, you’re already beat before you get started.”

Kentucky, 7-7 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, has lost its two previous games on the opponent’s court: at Indiana and at Houston.

Although this is his first swing through the SEC, Gillispie said he will not talk to anyone about the various arenas or other issues that might be specific to the league.

“The baskets, I’m sure, are 10 feet high,” he said. “The court is 94 by 50. If not, we’ll ask them to play somewhere else.”

Gillispie brushed off a question about how Kentucky might handle its first big on-court success of the season, the 79-73 double-overtime victory over No. 13 Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Cats won’t rest on that laurel, he said.

“They’re going to be tough,” Gillispie said of his players. “They’re going to be tough throughout the remainder of the season. They’re getting tougher, as we speak.”

Kentucky’s struggles have contributed to, and maybe are largely responsible for, the perception of the Southeastern Conference in decline this basketball season, the league’s coaches said on a teleconference Monday.

At 6-7, Kentucky brings a losing record into league play for the first time since the 1988-89 season. Coincidentally or not, the SEC is perceived as in a down year.

“To a large degree, the SEC has ridden the success of Kentucky,” South Carolina Coach Dave Odom said. “From that perspective, I bet every coach in the league pulls for them. It is important for Kentucky to be good.”

Odom added that Kentucky’s success — or lack thereof — “can’t be discounted” when assessing the perception of the SEC.

UK Coach Billy Gillispie accepted the blame.

“I would think a lot of the responsibility lies on how we’ve played,” he said.

Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl likened Kentucky and Florida to North Carolina and Duke in the ACC. When the flagship teams struggle, the league looks bad.

Alabama Coach Mark Gottfried noted his days as an assistant at UCLA. When the Bruins struggled, the perception of basketball in the west dipped.

Kentucky is hardly alone in its struggles. The SEC is 1-9 against ranked teams. Ole Miss had the only victory: against Clemson.

While UK has lost to Gardner-Webb and San Diego, the SEC winces at other defeats: Alabama to Belmont, Arkansas to Appalachian State and Georgia to East Tennessee State.

When asked about the SEC being down, Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said, “I don’t think we can dispute that assessment right now because we didn’t perform in the non-conference as well as other years.”

Added Georgia Coach Dennis Felton: “It’s obvious we’re not as powerful as we’ve been the last couple years. The last couple years we’ve been dominant.”

Yet, Gottfried did not accept the perception of a down year.

“Not one bit,” he said. “I don’t buy it at all. Those people who say it never competed in this league.”

By the NCAA Tournament, the SEC will show its normal winning colors, he said.