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Auburn Basketball: Bruce Pearl Proud, Not Pleased in Loss to Vanderbilt

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he was proud of his team’s effort in a 64-52 SEC opening loss to Vanderbilt, but not pleased with their execution.

It’s been an up and down season so far for the Auburn basketball program.

Since Bruce Pearl was hired as the head coach of the Tigers, interest has been at an all-time high, and expectations are on the rise. The crowds at Auburn Arena have been big and loud, and have helped the Tigers to a 7-1 record at home, including a five-game winning streak.

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However, Auburn has struggled mightily away from home, losing every game they have played on an opponent’s home court this season and splitting two games on a neutral court in Las Vegas. Also, it’s worth noting that four of Auburn’s losses came when Pearl was handcuffed with just eight scholarship players.

Following a 64-52 loss to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Auburn now has an 8-6 overall record.

The loss to the Commodores in the SEC opener provided yet another case of ups and downs. Just days after Pearl criticized his player’s energy in a 21-point victory over North Alabama, he was pleased with their efforts in the loss to Vandy.

“I’m proud of the way with the way our guys competed,” Pearl said after Tuesday night’s loss, “but not pleased with our execution, especially in the first half.”

You could see Pearl’s displeasure first hand on the ESPNU telecast, as captured by Justin Ferguson:

In that first half, Auburn dug a 14-point hole they were never able to climb out of. The Tigers fought hard and closed to within five points of Vanderbilt, and even held a 19-9 edge in turnovers, but a poor shooting performance couldn’t close the big early gap.

Once the dust settled, Auburn had made only 18 of 59 (30.5%) shots from the floor. The Tigers also shot just 50% (9-for-18) from the free throw line.

K.T. Harrell, the team’s leading scorer, had only eight points in Vanderbilt’s Memorial Coliseum, where Auburn has not won since 2000. Antoine Mason stepped up with a game-high 16 points, but he too was cold and made just five of 14 shots on the night, and only one of five three-point attempts.

Pearl has also had his ups and downs with 6-foot-7, 278-pound forward Cinmeon Bowers. 

Bowers began his Auburn career with four double-doubles, has eight of them in 14 games, and is one of just two players from a major conference to average a double-double this season.

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    • The junior college transfer has tremendous talent, and consistently draws comparisons to Auburn legend Charles Barkley, but Bowers regularly makes a few plays in a game that leaves Pearl – and Auburn basketball fans – shaking his head.

    He showed flashes of brilliance against the Commodores, but also led the Tigers with three turnovers, including a couple of plays in which he was just out of control of his own body.

    If Pearl can get Bowers, Harrell and Mason to click at the same time, get solid performances from role players like Tahj Shamisd-Deen, K.C. Ross-Miller and Malcolm Canada, and if late arriving true freshman Trayvon Reed emerges as the NBA-level talent he is, Auburn can be a very dangerous team in the SEC this year.

    “When we don’t play with that energy, getting after people, and turning people over, then what we do is just OK. I think our guys learned that. I think our guys saw that,” Pearl said Tuesday.

    It’s going to take a combination of effort and execution for the Tigers to win enough games to earn a post-season bid. They didn’t have it Tuesday in Vanderbilt, but they’ll have another opportunity Saturday at Auburn Arena against Missouri.

    Next: NFL Coaching Rumors: Malzahn Contacted by 49ers?

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