There was plenty of hype for this first-ever 1 vs 2 matchup in SEC basketball history, and unfortunately Auburn was a bit better on this day to take home a 94-85 victory.
This one got off to a disastrous start as Auburn hit three early three-pointers to go up 9-0 and Alabama couldn’t throw it into the ocean. Alabama missed their first six from beyond the arc, but began to find success taking the ball to the basket to chip away at the lead. The teams traded blows but Auburn maintained a narrow lead throughout the first half.
Two of those early three pointers came at the hand of Johni Broome. He had a good first half in the scorebook, but Cliff Omoruyi played perhaps his best half of defense all season. Broome was effectively turned into a perimeter shooter, as on the low block Cliff forced him into an offensive foul, then a terrible miss from four feet that caught no iron, then blocked one of his shots. Broome got 12 points but all came at least 12 feet from the basket. Cliff and Johni tied with eight rebounds apiece to lead their respective teams in the opening half.
Unfortunately Alabama had three terrible possessions to close the half, and against a good team that is usually going to cost you. As a result, Auburn took a nine point lead into the break at 42-33. Three point shooting was the main culprit, as Auburn made six of their 19 tries while Alabama made only two of their 14. Broome and Chaney Johnson led Auburn with 12 apiece, half of which came on three pointers. Alabama’s scoring was much more balanced, as 8 players scored between three and six. Mark Sears had five points but it was an abysmal half for him: 0-5 from three, one turnover, two fouls, and zero assists.
The second half didn’t start off much better than the first, as Auburn guard Denver Jones caught fire and hit three consecutive threes, including one accidental bank shot. Auburn pushed the lead out to 14 in short order as a result, and Alabama continued to struggle shooting the basketball. Give Auburn credit as their defense was relentless, but in a game where the Tide needed to play their best on both ends, the outside shots simply would not fall.
Jarin Stevenson finally drew the Tide within nine just inside eleven minutes with a beautiful drive to the basket. Auburn missed, Philon hit Omoruyi with a transition lob for a three point play, then Sears finally broke through with his first three pointer of the game. Just like that, Alabama had a 10-0 run to draw within three at 63-60 with a shade over nine minutes left. A Grant Nelson slam tied things up about a minute later, and it was game on down the stretch.
Unfortunately it was Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford who stepped up. He got to the basket at will on three straight occasions to grab yet another lead. Auburn big Dylan Cardwell fouled out with a push on one of those drives, just after guard Chad Baker-Mazara was forced into his fourth on a Sears drive. Johni Broome started limping at some point and briefly came out of the game, but this seems to be a nighly affair for him.
With Auburn up by seven, Jarin Stevenson blew a wide open shot from two feet. Baker-Mazara then slapped Chris Youngblood across the face on the other end with 2:22 left to foul out of the game on a flagrant foul call. UnfortunatelyYoungblood made only one of two and Sears made yet another ill-advised drive into traffic that netted nothing. That was Alabama’s last and best chance to pull this thing out, and two key players flat out blew it. In the end, that 9-0 lead that Auburn jumped out to became the difference as the two heavyweights played to a 85-85 draw the rest of the way.
It’s a team sport and you can never pin a loss on any one player, but you can’t expect to win a big game when your Super Senior point guard, who is purportedly an All-American, shoots 4-17 from the field including 2-11 from deep, and misses three free throws to boot. Mark has to be better, or other players need to get more opportunities. He dribbled into traffic way too often again, and got a couple of lucky bounces to save him from turnovers.
We didn’t really learn much from this one. Auburn is an excellent team and they played their typical game. Alabama had plenty of chances but squandered far too many. Nate Oats’ squad has no time to feel sorry for themselves with a schedule full of ranked foes left, starting at Mizzou on Wednesday.
Roll Tide.
