Observations: Auburn 82, Georgia 70
Auburn had far from its best offense in the first. Auburn had far from its best defense in the second. Still, Auburn had Johni Broome.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — Everybody wants style points.
Everybody wants to see one of the nation’s best offenses fire on all cylinders for all 40 minutes. Everybody wants to see a stifling defense keep it up for two halves. Everybody wants to see a team that has beaten multiple ranked opponents by double-digits run it up even more against a sizable underdog.
But all of that, honestly, comes secondary to the thing everybody should want: Seeing their team have more real points than their opponent when the clock hits all zeroes.
Auburn has now done that more times than any other high-major team in America.
“It’s just about survival, right?” Bruce Pearl said Saturday. “That’s what it’s about.”
Above all else, Auburn has to survive. It’s the only thing that matters at this point. The Tigers are getting closer to locking down the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament by the day. They’re also trying to hold onto their multi-game lead in an SEC that has been called the best league in men’s college basketball history.
Sometimes, that comes with its offense picking up its defense. Sometimes, it’s the other way around.
And, sometimes, that comes by having arguably the best player in the country.
“I mean, that was the biggest difference, at the end of the day,” Pearl said. “We had 4 and they didn’t.”
Auburn’s 82-70 win over Georgia on Saturday was, for the most part, not a comfortable one. Even a season-high 31 points and a near-perfect second half from National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome couldn’t get the Tigers there.
While the Bulldogs never led — and never got within two possessions after the Tigers opened the game with a 9-0 run — they wouldn’t fold. They kept swinging for all 40 minutes, knowing that a breakthrough against the No. 1 team in the country could save its season.
“We're clearly getting everyone's best shot,” Pearl said. “We are. That's great, because to the victor go the spoils. A victory over Auburn, with our math, could really get somebody off the bubble and into the tournament. That's what these kids are playing for. … Our guys are used to it.
“I think the other thing, too, it's a combination of having a bunch of older guys. They're starting to see the end of this thing in the regular season. And they don't want to waste opportunities. I think that sometimes keeps them engaged and continuing to work. Obviously, we're trying to play for championships.”
Auburn never panicked, even when it had one of its worst offensive halves of the season. Auburn never got overly frustrated, even when a surge of foul calls made a huge impact after the second half. Auburn never pressed too much, even when it couldn’t quite find the dagger — and when Georgia somehow stayed within reach.
As Pearl and other coaches throughout the SEC have said all season, that’s the sign of a championship team. And while every Auburn fan watching would have loved to seen a blowout Saturday, the most important thing was that the Tigers left the floor up by two games in the league with just four to play.
“Our focus is we've just got to continue to get better,” Pearl said. “I know it sounds strange, but that's our goal. And while we're doing that, we're going to try to beat the people who are in front of us.”
Here are four Observations from Auburn’s 12-point win over Georgia, along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and Quote of the Night.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
Johni Broome took his success vs. UGA to a new level
Heading into Saturday, Broome had averaged 17.8 points and 12.2 rebounds in his previous meetings with Georgia. He didn’t play in the first matchup last month, as he was out with that scary-looking ankle sprain he suffered against South Carolina.
Broome’s presence was always going to be a major difference for Auburn, which had to escape with a close win over Georgia in Athens. But Saturday was a different kind of phenomenal for Broome against a rival that is probably glad to see him leave soon.