Film Room: Into the Spider-Murph

Auburn needed a hero to beat Kentucky and save its season. KeShawn Murphy was that hero. Here's a deep dive into his career night.

(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)

AUBURN — The superhero returned home for a fight he had been looking forward to for a long time. But, even after a big comeback, he and his teammates were beaten.

He left with a lot of doubts. The loss weighed heavily. He took it personally. Doubt crept in from all sides, and things looked bleak. There wasn’t much time to sit with it, either. Another battle was waiting — one with even bigger stakes and even more pressure.

It felt like a script ripped right out of a comic book, or something you would see on the big screen. After a humbling defeat, KeShawn Murphy had to respond. He had to rise to the occasion and lead his teammates to a win by any means necessary.

Murphy did exactly that Saturday night, putting up a career-best performance and walking off the floor doing his signature web-slinging Spider-Man celebration with his teammates after Auburn’s thrilling 75-74 win over Kentucky.

It was a major response to what happened three days earlier, when he went 1-for-7 from the field in a gut-punch road loss against his former team at Mississippi State. He heard it all night from a crowd that once cheered him, and from former teammates — specifically Josh Hubbard — who used to go to war alongside him. The once-hopeful homecoming had left him far from home.

“It was just my focus,” Murphy said. “I want to do better for the team, honestly. I never was really big on stats. I really want to win. So me leaving that game, moving forward, was just a big part of how I came out really aggressive in getting the win today.”

Murphy had been challenged to rise up, both internally and externally. He received some tough coaching in the days leading up to the game. Auburn needed him to go out, set the tone, and help deliver a home win it desperately needed to stop the bleeding and stay on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.

“He had a lot of step-up tonight,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl said. “And I'm glad he played well, because obviously he was disappointed in how he played against Mississippi State. He followed it up with an incredible effort tonight.”

Murphy’s 25 points and eight offensive rebounds were both single-game career highs. He was also quite impactful on the defensive end of the floor against a deeper Kentucky frontcourt led by freshman phenom Malachi Moreno.

Going back through the tape of Auburn’s win over Kentucky, there are countless moments where Murphy made the difference. In this edition of the Film Room, let’s break down the plays that mattered most in him leading the Tigers to victory. In a game decided by one point, Auburn needed every single one of them.

Crashing the Glass Early

After very nearly starting the game with a steal — a possession that ultimately resulted in a made basket for Moreno, who turned his ankle on the play — Murphy makes his presence known on the offensive end against the early sub, Brandon Garrison.

On this play, Keyshawn Hall misses a corner 3-pointer. From the backside block, Murphy out-muscles Garrison underneath the rim to collect the offensive board. It won’t technically show up on the stat sheet, as the Kentucky big is whistled for holding Murphy’s right arm on a play he made anyway.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Kevin Overton fires an open 3-pointer from the right slot. Murphy takes on his next challenger — the 6-foot-11 Andrija Jelavic — in the middle of the lane logo.

It just means more to the four-year SEC letterwinner. Murphy quickly discards the Croatian import with a swim move, grabs the board and gets hacked on the way back up.

There’s only one white jersey in the paint, surrounded by three blue ones. Guess who wins? Murphy, who goes to the line and evens the early score.

It’s not all official, but in our personal record book, that’s two points, two offensive rebounds and two fouls drawn in one offensive possession.

The tone was being set.

Awareness on the Break