Observations: Auburn 83, Alabama State 63
Even though the Tigers won this first-round game, they didn't play as well as they did when they lost to Yale last year. That says a lot.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Almost a year ago to the day, Auburn basketball saw its NCAA Tournament dreams die before they got started with an upset loss to Yale.
The crushing disappointment in Spokane carried the Tigers into a long offseason. They brought it up constantly through summer workouts. They let it stick in the front of their minds at the start of a new season, one that saw them win an outright SEC championship and become the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history.
The Yale loss was brought up again Wednesday, one day before Auburn was set to start its new NCAA Tournament journey against Alabama State. It was a reminder that when Auburn doesn’t handle its business and control what it can control, it can lose to anybody — regardless of seed or conference affiliation.
On Thursday, Auburn didn’t experience another early NCAA Tournament exit. Auburn beat Alabama State by 20. The Tigers didn’t let the Hornets come within single digits for the final 18:20 of the game. The upset alerts were canceled nationwide.
It was a better result than Auburn’s last first round game.
But it wasn’t a better performance.
“We played better against Yale than we did tonight,” Bruce Pearl said Thursday.
Is that right? Even though it finished as an 83-63 win instead of a 78-76 loss?
“Yeah, we shot 50 percent, we had a great assist-to-turnover ratio,” Pearl said. “We missed some free throws in that game, too. But we actually played better against Yale. … We just weren’t sharp. Our teams always play with great effort and energy — or you have to, or our system doesn't really work. And I just think we didn't tonight.”
The intensity was uneven, and the result reflected it. For every standout performance from a Tiger, there was the opposite elsewhere on the roster.
This was a win that featured Miles Kelly tying an Auburn NCAA Tournament record with seven 3-pointers, picking up right where he left at Rupp Arena less than three weeks ago. It was also a win that featured the Tigers going 18-32 (56.3%) from the free-throw line as a team.
This was a win that featured a bounce-back showing from freshman Tahaad Pettiford, who had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in his NCAA Tournament debut. It was also a win that featured Auburn taking 35 3-pointers against an undersized Alabama State team, despite shooting 64% from 2.
This was a win that featured Johni Broome breaking a program record for most double-doubles in a season, as he had 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was also a win in which Auburn only had two more points in the paint than Alabama State.
This was a win that featured Chaney Johnson breaking out of his slump with 13 points and seven rebounds. It was also a win that saw Auburn almost completely blow an early 13-point lead in the matter of minutes with lackluster effort and execution on both ends of the floor.
“We've got to put together a full, 40-minute game if we're going to be successful, especially this late in the tournament,” Denver Jones said. “… It felt like, when Alabama State made their run, they were just playing harder than us.”
What’s changed between the Auburn team that walked out of Rupp Arena 19 days ago as the newly crowned SEC champion and one that has had five straight games — two wins and three losses — fall short of its usual standard?
“Valuing possessions,” Pearl said. “If there's one thing I can get my guys from this point forward to lock into right now, did we value every possession on the defensive end? Did we value any offensive end, scoring through contact? Did we just rely on the whistle? And then, would we finish plays?
“That's the biggest difference right now, between the way we were playing earlier in the season and the way we're playing right now. You can do that against a team that you're better than. But… we won't be able to do that from this point forward.”
Even though Auburn got a 20-point win in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday — its biggest since 1999 — that margin of victory is largely because it was playing the lowest-seeded team still left in the field. (Both of those games were against 16s.)
That’s why it was disappointing for Auburn to not play with the level of intensity, focus and sharpness that is demanded of a team in a win-or-go-home situation. The Tigers, perhaps more than any other team, know they can’t afford to live like this in March.
“Do you want this season to be over tomorrow, or do you want it to be over in April?” Dylan Cardwell said. “It's just a difference. We have the opportunity of a lifetime in front of us, and right now, our effort and energy is not showing that we're taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Here are four Observations from Auburn’s 83-63 win over Alabama State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, along with Nerd Stats, Rotation Charts and the Quote of the Day.
