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Auburn Basketball: Short-Handed Tigers Travel to Face Strong Georgia

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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It’s been a tough stretch for the Auburn basketball team, and as the team travels to face a strong Georgia Bulldogs squad, things got more difficult with the loss of Tahj Shamsid-Deen for the season and the likely unavailability of Antoine Mason.

Auburn Tigers (11-13, 3-8) at Georgia Bulldogs (16-7, 7-4)

  • Date: Saturday, February 14, 2015
  • Start Time: 1:00 PM Central
  • Location: Athens, GA
  • Arena: Stegeman Coliseum
  • TV Info: Fox Sports Net
  • Live Stream: ESPN3.com
  • Odds (VegasInsider.com): Georgia (-11)

With six losses in his last seven games, and with seven regular season contests remaining this year, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl is on the verge of something he’s never experienced as a college head coach: a losing season.

The Tigers lost 101-87 to Arkansas Tuesday night at Auburn Arena, sinking their record to 11-13 overall and 3-8 in SEC play. If that wasn’t bad enough, Pearl and the squad are likely to be without two starters Saturday against NCAA Tournament hopeful Georgia.

Feb 10, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen (13) grimaces in pain as a member of the medical staff tends to his shoulder during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Tahj Shamsid-Deen re-aggrivated a left shoulder injury early in the loss to the Razorbacks, and has been shut down for the remainder of the season. He will undergo surgeries on both shoulders, the first of which is scheduled for Thursday.

Auburn is also likely to be without second leading scorer Antoine Mason, who has been in New York this week with his father Anthony Mason, who suffered a heart attack.

“We will take it day-to-day and pray that his dad survives this really difficult time,” Pearl said during a Friday media session. “It is possible (Mason returns today) but my advice to him is that he has to be there for his mom and his family. If and when he is able to get back, he will. If not, then he won’t.”

The Tigers will likely look to Malcolm Canada and K.C. Ross-Miller to step into starting roles to replace Shamsid-Deen and Mason. Expect to see extended playing time for T.J. Lang as well, who scored a career-high nine points in 19 minutes Thursday. Alex Thompson, who has seen his playing time decrease recently, will also be called upon more to pick up the slack.

“We are thin at the point and we are thin on the wing, so our numbers are down,” Pearl said. “We have been in eight scholarship situations before. We don’t like to be in that situation right now. Certainly Tahj and Antoine were two of our top four players in our rotation, and it is going to be difficult to compete without them.”

Beating Georgia on the road would have been difficult with Shamsid-Deen and Mason, but now the odds are even longer.

UPDATE: Antoine Mason will play, but will not start

Auburn

  • #5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 13.5 PPG, 11.1 RPG
  • #25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 4.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
  • #1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 17.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
  • #12 K.C. Ross Miller, G, Sr., 6-foot-0, 178 pounds, 6.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG
  • #00 Malcolm Canada, G, Sr., 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, 5.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG

Georgia

Next: 2015 Auburn Football Recruiting Class Player Profiles

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