Observations: Auburn 102, AUM 66
While the new-look Tigers weren't at full strength, they still lit up the scoreboard and set the tone for what could be a fun season.
SG Denver Jones (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
The Auburn Tigers shot just 20% from deep and 72.1% from the free-throw line in their exhibition against AUM on Wednesday night.
…and they still scored more than 100 points.
The Tigers were without their best player from last season (Johni Broome) for all but three minutes and didn’t have their 5-star true freshman (Aden Holloway) at all.
…and they still scored more than 100 points.
Bruce Pearl said his Tigers weren’t “as excited” to play as they were in a successful private scrimmage against Furman on Sunday and that they “stepped back” overall.
…and they still scored more than 100 points.
For the first time in the Pearl Era, Auburn exceeded 100 points in regulation in an exhibition game. (Note: I tweeted and even said on today’s podcast it was the first time, but I had overlooked Auburn playing two exhibitions in 2015.)
Even with a slow start to proceedings — including a stretch when Auburn trailed its Division II sister school from down the interstate — the Tigers had one of their better-looking exhibitions in recent memory.
Pearl and his team will still walk away from the game knowing it could have played a lot better, especially when it’s at full strength. It will need to do so in order to compete with Baylor next Tuesday night in a huge season opener in South Dakota.
But the Tigers got a lot out of their 102-66 exhibition victory Wednesday night against AUM — especially the newcomers.
Here are five Observations from what went down in the non-televised exhibition, along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and the Quote of the Night.
SF Chad Baker-Mazara (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
The transfers deliver in their first game in The Jungle
With Holloway sitting out the game due to a “tweaked” ankle that he suffered early in the Furman game and Broome leaving early due to what Pearl called a “pinch in his rotator cuff,” the spotlight was firmly on the Tigers’ three transfer newcomers.
(And, for the many of you who are understandably concerned about the injuries, Pearl said that Holloway “should be back for Baylor” and that Broome “should be OK.”)
Those three transfers — Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson and Chad Baker-Mazara — looked quite comfortable in their new digs, as they finished the game as Auburn’s three leading scorers.
Jones had 18 points and went 4-8 from deep, hitting all but one of the Tigers’ 3-pointers in the game. He also had to play some point guard in Holloway’s absence, finishing with zero turnovers and a +23 in 22 minutes.
“Ever since I first got here, (Pearl) told me he wanted me to shoot the ball, and he was like I'm here to score,” Jones said. “Every day since I've been here from the summer working out, he's been instilling confidence in me, telling me to do what I do.”
The FIU transfer shooting guard started alongside Johnson, who scored on a post move to open the game and finished with 14 points on 6-10 from 2-point range. (Johnson surprisingly struggled from the free-throw line, going 2-7.)
Meanwhile, Baker-Mazara came off the bench to add 15 points, including a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe. The JUCO transfer from the Dominican Republic has the potential to be a fan-favorite this season, going so far as to pose for the cameras after getting fouled in the second half.
“To be honest, I was really excited the whole day,” Baker-Mazara said. “And last night, I could not fall asleep. I was really excited because all the guys have been talking to me about how The Jungle is crazy. I felt like tonight we got a little bit of that. Overall, it was just great to be out there and representing Auburn.”
AUM was obviously not indicative of the type of team that Auburn is going to play night in and night out, but there’s still something to be said of three newcomers making this kind of impact right away.
And that could be a sign for even bigger things ahead.
“Those guys are good,” Pearl said. “They definitely have a chance to make us a better team. They all have great ability. Two of them started tonight. Chad is good enough to start. I think that tells you that we're going to grow as a team — because they're our three leading scorers, and they're three new players. … They're real efficient players, really high basketball IQ.”
PF Jaylin Williams (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)