Auburn basketball: Tigers close out non-conference play with a win

Auburn basketball has had its struggles the last couple of weeks, losing to Memphis and USC to drop its record to 9-2. Last night, the Tigers were in Seattle facing off against the Washington Huskies, who were also a 9-win team already.

Unlike the Memphis and USC games, the Tigers’ offense came to play at all three levels, and the result was a well-earned win.

Auburn basketball now heads into conference play at 10-2, with wins over multiple teams that will be pushing for an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The two losses come against good teams in USC and Memphis, and the difference in those games was three-point shooting.

First Half

As we wrote in our preview article, Washington wants to play a 3-2 zone defense and take away open threes. Auburn basketball won the tip and we got to see that in action immediately. Throughout the first half, Auburn showed the patience to move the ball laterally and find the middle of the floor. When open shots came, Auburn made them.

We also wrote on how downhill Washington wants to play on offense. They repeatedly probed into the paint and worked to create good looks at the rim. Tonight, guys like Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell put in work to keep those looks from coming to fruition.

Through the first 10 minutes, Auburn had scored just 11 points. Then Auburn started to find it. Repeatedly getting the ball into the high post led to good looks for everyone. The Tigers outscored Washington 19-14 heading into halftime.

Second Half

The two teams mostly traded baskets for the first 6 minutes of play in the second half, with Auburn increasing their lead by just 5. But then Auburn started to get stops, and what was once a 10-point lead quickly turned into a 19-point lead. Whenever the Huskies scored, the Tigers had an answer. Like seemingly every other win, Auburn let their defense dictate their offense.

By the time 7-minute mark rolled around, Auburn led by 22. Every 2 points for Washington was seemingly met with a 3 or an and-one opportunity for Auburn. Over the next 4 minutes Auburn stretched out the lead to 27, and the game was practically over.

Washington win was the best Auburn basketball performance of the year

This was probably Auburn’s best performance of the year when you consider everything that went into it. On the road, 1-2 in the last 3 games, both losses were winnable games, later start. All of this could’ve turned into a sluggish game for the Tigers. Instead, they picked themselves up off the dirt and went to work.

With just a little momentum heading into SEC play, the Tigers need to bottle up this performance if they intend to get a top 4 seed in the SEC tournament. We will have a nice long break to enjoy the Christmas holidays. Next up on the docket is a trip to Gainesville to start conference play. War Eagle.