In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, the basketball team is at #2 in the first NET rankings and Eugene Asante addresses the Iron Bowl defense
It was a big holiday week for the Auburn basketball team. The Tigers defeated Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis to win the 2024 Maui Invitational and continue to show that they are not a team to underestimate this year.
The NCAA has released its first NET rankings of the season, which are not the same as the AP Poll rankings and are important in building the resumes of college basketball teams. For the first assessment, the Auburn basketball team comes in at the #2 spot behind conference foe Tennessee
Coming in at no. 2 in the first NET rating of the season 🤙 pic.twitter.com/wQuGWjM1lL
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) December 2, 2024
Head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers will return to action after the holiday break this Wednesday. They will face off against Duke at Cameron Indoor at 8:15 p.m.
Eugene Asante addresses the Iron Bowl defense
It was a tough Iron Bowl for Auburn football fans. It felt like the Tigers didn't get beaten, but rather lost to an Alabama team in a game they were surely capable of winning.
All season long, the Auburn football offense has been more troubling than the defense, a group that has been largely responsible for keeping the Tigers in multiple games this year. However, the defense also struggled in the Iron Bowl, allowing 457 total yards of offense for the Tide, the second-most yards they've allowed all season.
Head coach Hugh Freeze said that the defense was thin and it was obvious that they were tired at times, and linebacker Eugene Asante pointed to the lack of execution—a theme of the year.
“There were some situations where we were in great calls, and we have to just make plays as players. It really just comes down to executing. We didn't execute enough tonight, and that was the tale of the tape,” said Asante, per Auburn Rivals.