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Auburn Basketball: Tigers Aim For Sweep of Georgia on Senior Night

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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The Auburn basketball team takes aim at a sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday at Auburn Arena. The Tigers will honor their four seniors on Senior Night.

Auburn Tigers (12-18, 4-13) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (19-10, 10-7)

  • Date: Saturday March 7, 2015
  • Start Time: 3:00 PM Central
  • Location: Auburn, AL
  • Arena: Auburn Arena
  • TV Info: SEC Network
  • Live Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN3.com
  • Odds (VegasInsider.com): Georgia (-6)

It’s been a long, hard season, but the regular season final is now upon us. Saturday on Senior Night, four Tigers will be celebrated for the roles they’ve played in rebuilding the Auburn basketball program.

Usually Senior Night is the celebration of four years on campus. However, this year’s group all played elsewhere in their careers, and two of the players to be honored are in their first seasons as Tigers. Still, the impact the players have made this season is unmistakeable.

Mar 3, 2015; Columbia, MO, USA; Auburn Tigers guard KT Harrell (1) goes for a three point basket over Missouri Tigers during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dak Dillon-USA TODAY Sports

They’ve played before sold out crowds at Auburn Arena, they’ve picked up big upset wins on the road over LSU and Georgia, and they’ve played nearly every game in front of a national television audience. The future is bright for the Auburn basketball program, and this year’s crop of seniors can be proud of the foundation they’ve built for future teams to build upon.

K.T. Harrell, Malcolm Canada, and K.C. Ross-Miller will play their final home game in Auburn Arena, and the trio will take aim at ending a five-game losing streak and capturing a season sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs – the last team they beat in a 69-68 upset in Athens February 14. Antoine Mason is unlikely to play as he continues to mourn the death of his father Anthony.

Of the group, Harrell has had the most celebrated career and his head coach spent a large portion of his Friday press conference stumping for his senior guard to make the All-SEC first team.

“I would like to make a case for K.T. being a first-team all-conference player this year,” Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said Friday. “He leads the league in scoring and three-point percentage, and is seventh in the nation in three-point percentage. A lot of times he has to take tough, contested shots. He is our best player. He has improved defensively.”

In 30 games so far this season, Harrell has averaged 17.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He’s shot 46.6% from the floor, 44.2% from the three-point line and has hit 80% of his free throws.

“It is tough to get a first-team all-conference player on a team that has finished near the bottom of the league, but I think he would start on any team in this conference and that says a lot. I am really proud of him.”

Two of Harrell’s teammates – Ross-Miller and Mason – are completing their college basketball careers in their only season on the Plains.

“We did the best we could with K.C. and Antoine as fifth-year guys,” Pearl said. “I’m not a huge proponent of the rule, but in this case, it worked out for us. Those guys got a chance to be a part of the Auburn family. We will look back on certain games and know without them we have no chance to win. I will look back at other games and know with them we had no chance to win, either.”

Mason was the team’s leading scorer with 15.1 points per game following his transfer from Niagara. He shot 42.1% from the floor and 40.8% from beyond the arc, but missed six games early in the season with an ankle injury and hasn’t played in the last two games following Anthony Mason‘s death.

Ross-Miller has averaged 6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists split between the starting lineup and the bench. A pick pocket artist, Ross-Miller has added 1.6 assists as well.

Canada, in his second year on campus following a transfer from junior college, has averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the team’s energetic, hard-nosed sixth man. The Austin, Texas native has had the unique task this season of playing point guard on offense and transitioning to the No. 4 position on defense.

However, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he’s not ideally built for the power forward position. And that is one of the biggest examples of the struggles the Tigers have faced this season. Pearl’s first roster has been stacked with guards and light on post players. Always undersized and under manned, the Tigers have stumbled to 12-18 overall and 4-13 in the SEC.

“I am going to pull out some positive things… ” Pearl said. “The support has been great, both in the stands and privately. I have not beat up these kids because it is not all their fault. The Auburn family hasn’t beaten us up because they recognize our effort, and they see the hope.”

Auburn

  • #5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 12.6 PPG, 9.9 RPG
  • #25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 4.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG
  • #23 T.J. Lang, G, Fr., 6-foot-7, 193 pounds, 2.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG
  • #1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 17.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG
  • #12 K.C. Ross-Miller, G, Sr., 6-foot-0, 178 pounds, 6.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG

Georgia

Next: 2015 Auburn Football Schedule: Early Predictions

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