Auburn just needs Chaney to be Chaney
Chaney Johnson is in a slump, and that's had an impact on the Tigers' chances of winning. Can he get back to his old self for one last run?
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AUBURN — It was another tough game for Chaney Johnson, and he wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.
Auburn had just lost by five to Tennessee in an SEC Tournament semifinal that came down to the final seconds. The Tigers had gone on a huge run in the second half and got 23 points from National Player of the Year winner Johni Broome — but they were unable to complete the comeback and catch the Volunteers.
In the postgame locker room, Johnson took questions from media members on Auburn dropping three games in its last five, the importance of responding to adversity heading into the NCAA Tournament and making sure no one blamed the loss on Broome’s misses at the free-throw line.
At one point in the media session, Johnson turned introspective — and quite honest — about his own performance.
“For myself, I’d just say that I feel like my effort wasn’t there all the time,” Johnson said. “My team needs me to be that glue guy, and I feel like I wasn’t that guy.”
Johnson then rattled off his own stats against Tennessee from memory: Just one rebound, just one made shot. His plus/minus “probably wasn’t that good.”
“They just need me to be Chaney,” Johnson continued. “And I don’t feel like I was Chaney.”
While Auburn’s three losses over its last four — which came after a jaw-dropping 27-2 start to the season, by the way — have all come against a No. 1 seed, a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, the Tigers know they haven’t played close to their full potential in these games.
According to T-Rank, since the day after Auburn’s SEC title-clinching win over Kentucky, the Tigers are playing like the No. 36 team in the country. Of course, they held on to a deserved No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament because of how elite they had been before the last two weeks. But there has been a drop in quality.
Johnson might be the best example of that drop from Auburn, too. Over the last four games, Johnson has recorded a total of 13 points and 10 rebounds in 80 minutes. Prior to that, Johnson had been averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Johnson’s cold spell started before Auburn’s tough final two weeks, though. Over the last seven games, Johnson is averaging 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest, with a Game Score of 2.8. In the seven games before that stretch, he was averaging 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest, with a Game Score of 10.6.
In the SEC Tournament quarterfinal against Ole Miss last Friday, Johnson hit a crucial 3-pointer in the second half. He also brought in seven rebounds against a severely undersized Rebels team while also stepping up his game on the defensive end.
And it’s worth noting that Johnson’s defensive impact has continued to be one of his stronger suits in recent weeks. According to CBB Analytics, Johnson has the second-best on/off defensive rating on the team over the last 10 games, only behind Denver Jones. That same 1-2 carries over for the entire season.
But Johnson’s lack of scoring has been an issue.