KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One more time, the Kentucky players wear the bull’s-eye on their chest, only this time, a berth in the Final Four is at stake.

Auburn gets this third and final chance to beat Kentucky, this time in the Midwest Regional Elite Eight without Chuma Okeke, who tore his ACL against North Carolina on Friday.

“I’m sure they wanted to play us … everybody wants to play us because we’re Kentucky,” Wildcats guard Tyler Herro said.

No one more than Auburn — dominated 80-53 last month at Rupp Arena, and beaten at home by the Wildcats, 82-80, on Jan. 19.

“I’m sure they’re extremely motivated now,” Herro said. “It’s gonna be a tough matchup for us. We’re gonna have to go out there and play because they’re gonna be coming for us.”

The matchup pits Auburn’s relentless 3-point shooting versus Kentucky’s power game.

“Usually we’re the only team that has something to lose ’cause everybody’s coming for us,” Herro said. “I feel like now both teams have something to lose and I think you can feel it.”

Herro likes the great expectations.

“I think that just pushes us to our highest level, it makes us focus in even more,” Herro said.

Herro drilled the game-winning 3 against North Carolina, and with Auburn shooting 3s coming off the bus, he will be counted on as Mr. Outside to thoroughbred PJ Washington’s Mr. Inside.

“I just like taking big shots, I guess, I don’t know why,” Herro said. “I put in a lot of hours and I just trust my instincts that it’s gonna go in.”

Herro, SEC Newcomer of the Year, money at the free-throw line, got congratulations from his father, his coach up until the eighth grade, after the game.

“He just said, ‘Good shot,’ ” Herro said. “Obviously, ‘Just refocus and be ready to go tomorrow.’ ”

He is a 6-foot-5 freshman from Milwaukee who has been labeled a traitor by mean-spirited fans after recommitting from Wisconsin, and has not regretted his decision.

“We know Auburn’s gonna make some 3s. We just gotta do our best to our ability to not allow them to make 20 3s,” Herro said. “Definitely have to make six or seven, I think Coach usually says when we play them.”

Wildcats coach John Calipari had some fun at former Auburn legend Charles Barkley’s expense when asked about the job coach Bruce Pearl has done changing the culture of the Tigers’ program.

“Well, he’s gotten a program where people are absolutely excited,” Calipari said. “And Sonny Smith back in the day had it rolling. He had that guy — what’s his name? Charles? What’s his last name? Oh, Charles Barkley.”

Washington, following ice treatments and elevation, expects his sprained foot to feel less pain than it did against Carolina.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Washington said.

He was unfairly maligned for a lack of toughness when he was forced to miss the first two games of March Madness.

“If you know me, you know I love to play with all my teammates, I love this program and I give my all to this program every day, so it was just kind of funny to see stuff like that,” Washington said.

Calipari has been imploring his players to forget how badly they whipped Auburn on Feb. 23. Herro and Washington combined for eight of Kentucky’s 11 3s.

“We made more 3s than we made most of the season,” Calapari said.

Wildcats big man Reid Travis did not play in that one, but Okeke did. Travis is trying not to think about returning home to Minneapolis for the Final Four.

“We definitely know he’s definitely trying to get back home,” Washington said. “We’re trying to get him back home too. We gotta try to force ’em to take tough 2s and be the aggressor on both ends of the floor, and I feel like if we do that, we’ll have a great chance of getting him back home.”

Auburn is buoyed now by its 11-game winning streak. But it will take a village to replace Okeke.

“They’re playing out of their minds right now,” Calipari said. “Those other two games have no bearing on this game.”

This game of games.

“I feel like it’s definitely hard to beat a team three times in a row,” Washington said. “They definitely know what we do, they know what we like to do, and we know what they like to do. Like I said earlier, it just comes down to who wants it more and who’s gonna fight to the last second.”