Auburn Basketball: Recapping the non-conference Portion of the Schedule
What has gone right for Auburn basketball?
To this point, Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams have been the most consistent players on the team. Broome’s rebounding and rim defense paired with a solid rolodex of post moves have just about made him a walking double double. Williams’s excellent inside out play has him shooting nearly 40% from three (the benchmark for which three-point excellence begins), while also ranking second on the team in both rebounds and assists.
Bruce Pearl has always found a way to get his best player the ball, and to this point, Johni Broome has proven that theory correct, leading the team in shot attempts and shot makes. As for players like Wendell Green Jr., KD Johnson, and Zep Jasper, the play hasn’t been phenomenal, but it has been good enough to support the efforts of Broome and Williams.
Another strength of this team, which has always been the case under Bruce Pearl, is the stingy defense. Auburn basketball gives up just 62 points per game. This season has not been one where the offense has to score 80 for the team to win. The defense has done its fair share, and the fair share of 313 other teams as well.
What has gone wrong for Auburn basketball?
What was once a strength for the Tigers year after year is no more. Three-point shooting has absolutely cratered this season, with just three players shooting at least 30% from deep, and just two shooting at least 35% (Chris Moore and the aforementioned Jaylin Williams), per Sports-Reference.com. A team that was once so deadly from long-range that Jared Harper would willingly give up open breakaway layups for Bryce Brown corner threes has now turned into a team that struggles to even make the open shots in the halfcourt.
Auburn has shot 35% or better from deep just three times this year, and it is no coincidence that those three games are the three games in which Auburn cleared not just 75 points, but 85 points. In the games in which Auburn has shot less than 30% from three, which has tragically been all but four games, the Tigers average exactly 66 points per game, which would place Auburn at a paltry 271st in the country.
Bruce Pearl’s flex action offense, which will be detailed before the start of SEC play against Florida, creates open looks from deep more often than not. Auburn just has to start connecting on a few more. If Auburn could make 3-4 more threes per game, which would equate to a 3PT% of around 40%, that would raise the ceiling of this team back to SEC Championship contender status.