Auburn basketball: Tigers suffer first conference loss in Athens

On a night where seemingly nothing went right, the good guys couldn’t overcome. Auburn basketball suffered its first loss in conference play against Georgia last night. Poor shooting, lackluster transition defense, you name it. Auburn didn’t execute, and got beat.

Going into this one, we knew that Georgia was much improved over the Tom Crean scheduled wins of the past. This Dawgs team is not bad. They may not be great (the jury is still out), but they aren’t bad. Let’s talk about it.

Sidenote: all of the notes below come from this highlight video, as I was unable to watch the game live.

First Half

Early in the first half, Auburn basketball REALLY struggled inside. Multiple blown chances at the rim, struggles to find any space to operate, and Georgia playing straight up all contributed to a tough offensive start.

One thing that was going the Tigers’ way was the offensive glass. Multiple offensive rebounds saved what could’ve been an even worse start. However, turnovers negated whatever advantage the offensive glass created. We did get a rare Johni Broome make from three tonight, so that’s something to celebrate.

Georgia kept the defensive pressure up all game, and made Auburn’s motion offense very motionless. 10 minutes in, and the Tigers had just 10 points. In what has become a recurring theme, Auburn’s offense is generally lifeless in the first half of play. If not for an 11-0 run in the middle of the first half, this game might’ve never been competitive.

One thing Georgia did exceptionally well was cover the Wendell Green pick and roll. WGJ had almost no room to look for jumpers, no passing lane to the roll man, and was forced to either make a play one on one or dish to another perimeter player. This is something to keep an eye on throughout the season.

From that 11-0 run on, it was all Georgia. 37-30 going into the half against a team that has been in the cellar of SEC basketball was no good.

Second Half

A Jaylin Williams opening three was a good start to the second half. A second three from Johni Broome stemmed a short Georgia run, and being down six really felt like a good place to be.

Georgia never did just take this game over. Spot buckets from the Tigers allowed for it to remain competitive. But the defense that Auburn displayed was not up to code. That’s normally not a good sign. Georgia got several runs at the rim both on and off the ball.

Fouls gave Georgia more free throws than Auburn would’ve like, and while Georgia wasn’t making many of them, they had plenty of opportunities.

Johni Broome continued to be the most consistent source of offense, but on the other end, there just weren’t any stops. The closest Auburn could ever get was 4, as Georgia just kept finding points in the paint. With about 8 minutes to go, Georgia turned it on.

An 11 point lead with 4 minutes to go felt insurmountable, and while Auburn threw every punch they had in them, only a couple landed. Even with Georgia missing most of their free throws, Auburn just never could close the gap.

The final two minutes were all Georgia. Offensively, defensively, Georgia did it all better than Auburn. And that’s just how the cookie crumbles. Final score: Georgia 76, Auburn 64.

Final Stats for Auburn basketball

Leading scorer: Johni Broome (22 PTS, 9-17 FG, 2-5 3PT)

Leading rebounder: Johni Broome (12 REB, 6 REB)

Leading assister: Jaylin Williams (4 AST)

Player of the Game: This has to go to Johni Broome. He was everywhere and did everything for the Tigers. 22 points, 12 boards, 1 block, and a pair of made threes is as good a game as he’s had all year. The problem is that only one other player reached double digits: Allen Flanigan with 11 off the bench.

Next up for Auburn basketball

Following this loss, the Tigers will return home to face the talented Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas sports a cool 12-2 record, and Eric Musselman is one of the best coaches in the country. Hopefully the Jungle comes and makes life miserable for them. As always, War Eagle.