It was a tough day to be an Auburn basketball fan. The Tigers hosted the Tide on the Plains Saturday for an Iron Bowl of Basketball rematch, and this time, Nate Oats and his squad came out on top. For the first time this season, head coach Bruce Pearl's team will be heading into their next game on a losing streak.
Johni Broome had another strong game, dropping 34 points, but only two other Tigers— Tahaad Pettiford and Miles Kelly— scored in double digits. Chad Baker-Mazara's flagrant 2 and ejection in the second half didn't help either. The Tigers struggled on defense, allowing Alabama to make many more shots than in the last matchup, and once again, Auburn was outrebounded.
After ending the regular season with a bad taste in their mouths, the Tigers will have to turn their attention to the SEC Tournament, which begins on March 12. Here is what the team had to say about their loss.
Pearl on Auburn's defense, per Auburn Undercover:
"But, as a team, I thought we had just too many defensive breakdowns — too many things that we talked about trying to do that we did not do that we weren't locked into on the scout. As a result, they had some better looks at the rim. They got downhill. They got the offensive rebounding, very similar to what Texas A&M did. Except, obviously, Alabama shoots it better. They turned corners on us, got downhill. Come over, miss a shot, backside rebound, tip dunk. So, not putting bodies on those guys and giving those guys 18 second-chance points is a lot."
Broome's message to Baker-Mazara, per Auburn Rivals:
"My message to Chad is to learn from his mistakes. Want to change, want to do better for the team and for himself. We all love Chad, we still had the opportunity to win the game without Chad. Obviously he's down on himself, as well, because he'd rather be out there with us. The message to him is to try to learn from his mistakes."
Broome on getting outrebounded, per Auburn Rivals:
“We have to do a better job on the glass. It starts with me, obviously. I have to be better. I haven't had a double-double in three games. That's not like me. So, it starts with me, like I said. But as a collective, we have to crack down. We have to all box out. Bigs got to box out, guards got to crack down. It's a team effort.”
Pearl on shifting gears to the post-season, per Auburn Undercover:
"We're in postseason now. We're shifting gears to postseason, and postseason is all about step up. It's just all about step up. As you get seeded a little bit better, so you have a better chance to advance through the tournament — which you earned and we worked for. But it's time. Johni Broome showed you step up tonight. Grant Nelson showed you step up tonight. They get a couple more guys to step up like Grant did or Cliff did today. We got a couple more guys to step up. Obviously, our front line has to defend better. Our front line has to rebound better, and Chaney and Johni and Dylan have got to be able to defend better against the teams that we've gotten beaten by."
The Tigers return to action for their first SEC Tournament game this Friday, March 14, at noon.