Steven Pearl looks at what Seattle University does on defense, and it frightens him a little bit. The Redhawks rank 12th in college basketball by forcing almost 15 turnovers per game while also blocking close to five shots per game, good for 21st.
The first-year Auburn coach knows that if his team doesn’t show up ready to play on Sunday night, it could be ugly for the Tigers.
“Our guys are going to have to show up and be excited about playing because if we don’t, this is a team that is capable, defensively, of making you look bad,” he said.
The Tigers came out sluggish in their NIT opener against South Alabama, trailing the Jaguars 36-30 at halftime before kicking it up another gear and outscoring USA by 17 in the second half. Sixteen of Auburn’s 24 field goals came from behind the three-point line, as the Tigers finished 16-of-44 (36 percent) from three, but shot just 39 percent from the entire floor. That was mostly due to South Alabama playing a zone, though, something that Seattle hardly does.
Seattle's defense excels at forcing turnovers
There’s another problem that Chris Victor’s Redhawks will pose to Auburn, as they hold opponents to 41.5 percent shooting from the floor, and hold opponents to 66.6 points per game, way below the Tigers’ average of 82.6 points per game.
“One of the better defensive teams we’ll have gone against all year,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Incredibly active, they really fly around and make what you do really difficult ... “They play hard, and that makes your defense so much better when you give multiple efforts like that at all five positions.”
It could be a low-scoring affair with Auburn hosting Seattle on Sunday evening in Neville Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT, with the game airing on ESPN2.