Steven Pearl knows it. Every Auburn player knows it. And, yes, every coach who has faced Alabama this season knows it. To beat the Crimson Tide, you have to stop them from getting hot from three-point range.
Nate Oats’ team leads all of college basketball by making 13 three-pointers a game, and as Auburn’s defense struggles in that area – the Tigers ranked 352nd out of 361 teams in Division 1, allowing teams to shoot 37.3 percent from downtown – Saturday’s rematch of Alabama’s victory in February seems lopsided.
They shoot the ball at an incredibly high level,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Every time teams break down on the defensive end, they make you pay for it. They’re going to get shots up before they turn it over, usually, but we’ve got to do some things defensively to try to disrupt them. If we can create turnovers, we can get out in transition and run a little bit.”
Auburn must keep Alabama from getting hot from three-point range
While the Tigers held the Tide to just under their average in the first matchup at 12 three-pointers made, Oats’ squad still shot 52 percent from beyond the arc and scored 96 points in the four-point win.
In the first half of the first game, the Tigers kept the Tide in check, holding them to 37 points going into the break. It was the second half that was the problem as Alabama went off for 59 points.
Can the Tigers redo what was so successful in the first 20 minutes?
That's the plan, to look at the things we did well, try and do more of those, and look at the things that they made us pay for, and try to not do those,” Pearl said.
For Auburn, it is a must-win game to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. For Elyjay Freeman, it’s about payback.
“Yeah, it means a lot,” Elyjah Freeman said. “It's more so just getting back. They're up one on us. Being able to go to their place and get this dub is gonna mean a lot. That's been our mindset all week.”