Auburn has had a season of ups and downs, but tonight’s game might have been it’s worse loss of the season. Auburn (11-20) came out with almost no energy and Tennessee (14-18) shot the ball extremely well to run Auburn out of the gym.
Before I write about all the bad things that Auburn did and why this game was a complete disaster, I’ll start with the few positives. Auburn shot 21-29 (72.4%) from the free throw line. Had Auburn gotten this kind of performance at the charity stripe against Alabama or several other teams, it might have had 2-3 more wins this season. Also, after starting out slow, Tyler Harris managed to finish with 14 points and 9 rebounds although he only shot 5-13 from the floor. Sadly, that’s about all that went Auburn way in this game.
I said in my preview that one team would win this game by a large margin. I had hoped it would be Auburn, but Tennessee did exactly what they need to do to get the big win while Auburn rolled over a just let them have it pretty early on in the game. Tennessee shot almost twice as well as Auburn going 58.6% from the floor compared to Auburn’s 29.8%. The Volunteers knocked down 11 three pointers including four from Devon Baulkman.
After being a complete non-factor in the first two games, Armani Moore stepped up in a big way for the Volunteers without Kevin Punter Jr. Moore put up a game high 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, which was more than Auburn’s entire team had. Moore only missed three shots and went 10-13 from the field. Moore was the big, athletic player that he’s been for most of the season and played like Auburn wishes Cinmeon Bowers would have played. Moore stepped up when he needed to and was the clear leader for the Volunteers all night long. He was the leader that Auburn had last year and needed this season if they were going to make another run, or at least get a single win.
This game was incredibly disappointing and I expected Auburn to make a much better effort in this game. I didn’t expect Auburn to make another deep run and with it’s latest game, I wasn’t expecting a lot, but the Tigers still could have easily won this game and certainly shouldn’t have lost by 38.
Auburn needed much more offensive production outside of T.J. Dunans and Tyler Harris. Dunans was attacking the basket well, especially in the second half, but there was not help from the outside. Auburn’s shooters TJ Lang, Jordon Granger, and Bryce Brown shot a combined 2-15 from deep and that just won’t get it done. I feel bad that Granger has had the bad stretch to end his final season with Auburn, but the other guys will come back next year with plenty of a chance at redemption.
I feel sorry that this was the end that Tyler Harris, Cinmeon Bowers, and Jordon Granger got, but the effort just wasn’t there tonight and Tennessee played really well. This embarrassing game was a perfectly fitting end to this season, but the future is still bright for Auburn. Not a lot of positive things to say about this game, but at least it’s over.
Still a lot to digest from this season and I’ll have a few things to say in a season recap, but this is the last post game review for the year. Until next year, War Eagle.