Following the Tigers’ elimination from the 2023 March Madness NCAA tournament at the hands of Houston 81-64 from Birmingham on March 18, the AU BSS account tweeted that the 2022-23 Auburn basketball season was a rebuilding year due to the losses of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler to the NBA.
This was a rebuilding year after losing 2 elite 1st rounders.
— Auburn Barstool (@WarDamnStool) March 19, 2023
Getting to the 32s is a good accomplishment don’t get me wrong… but we had that game. The most frustrating part is WE lost it. Houston is a hell of a team but that one really feels self inflicted.
Time to reload.
Auburn got just as far in the SEC tournament (no wins) and the Big Dance (one win) in 2022-23 as they did in 2021-22, though the Tigers were a No. 9 seed in March as opposed to a No. 2 team last — with AU never cracking the AP Poll’s top 10 this season being the key difference to last year’s squad that was ranked No. 1 for several weeks.
Ultimately, expectations were decently high — unfairly high around these parts in hindsight — in the preseason and even until the team lost to Georgia on the road in their first SEC game away from the Neville Arena.
Auburn basketball was better than the ‘rebuilding’ label in 2022-23
Auburn basketball was up double-digits against Houston, just as they were against Iowa on March 16, and just like against the Hawkeyes, that lead was blown. The Cougars, unlike Iowa, didn’t give it back.
The Tigers were 20 minutes from the Sweet 16, but they ultimately fell short on March 18 against the Midwest Region No. 1 seed Houston because they gave up too many looks at the rim and had a stagnant offense attack as the game entered its closing moments.
Oh, and the 17 missed free throws.
Bruce Pearl said coming into this one that Houston is the country’s best team, so the natural excuse after a loss should’ve focused on facing a buzzsaw, even if it was on the Legacy Arena court in Birmingham.
But if Yohan Traore panned out, K.D. Johnson didn’t have so many poor shooting nights, and Chance Westry was healthy, the rebuilding label wouldn’t be anywhere near the 2022-23 Tigers.