Auburn’s tournament chances took a hit in the season finale loss as No. 16 Alabama used its nation’s best offense to overpower the Tigers, 96-84. Auburn will now look to the SEC tournament next week to revive its tournament resume before Selection Sunday.
Alabama recorded its 20th 90-point game this season tonight, scoring 96 and further diminishing Auburn’s 268th-ranked defensive efficiency since Feb. 7th. Alabama’s explosion tonight was the second-highest point total given up by Auburn’s defense in SEC play this season, and the most since the SEC opener against Georgia.
A hot start for the nation’s best offense, led by Labaron Philon Jr., saw four straight makes to make it an 11-3 game in just the first two minutes. It was quite the opposite story on the other side of the court, with Auburn having more turnovers than points, with four giveaways to just three points.
Two dunks by Keshawn Murphy would make it 11-7 heading into the first media timeout, where things would start going downhill for Auburn.
Two scoreless minutes later for Auburn, Filip Jovic would make a couple of free throws to make it a 15-9 game, but then Philon started to take over. A wide-open three and layup heading into the under-12 media timeout by Philon gave Alabama a double-digit lead and him as many points as the whole Auburn team, 11.
Things started to get worse for the Tigers later in the half when Alabama pushed its lead to 22 at the under-4 media timeout. The Tide used a 16-4 run, led by former Tiger Aden Holloway, between media timeouts, blowing the game open just before the half.
Alabama’s offensive explosion carried over to the second half as the Tide went on a 9-0 run and made six of their last seven shots before the first media timeout to extend the lead to a game-high 28 points.
On the other side of the court, the Tigers looked as slow as they had looked all season long. Auburn went on a near-4-minute scoring drought at the start of the second half and was often beaten in transition, Alabama's specialty.
The Tigers had some life in the second half as they went on an 8-0 run after the under-12 media timeout, getting the lead down to 16 points. Kevin Overton’s 24 points inspired these small Auburn runs, but the Tigers' lack of defense kept the Alabama lead around 20 for most of the half.
Auburn’s four double-digit scorers in Overton, Tahaad Pettiford, Elyjah Freeman, and Kevin Overton would make a run at the end to finish the game at 96-84. Still, Alabama’s game proved to be too much for the Tigers. Auburn head coachSteven Pearl talked post-game about Alabama’s offensive success and how the Tide used it to beat the Tigers.
“Alabama played well and beat us at their own game," Pearl said. "We got pushed around. They punked us. That’s the short of it.”
Auburn will play next in the SEC tournament on Wednesday against a familiar foe, Mississippi State. The Tigers lost to the Bulldogs on February 18th, 91-85 behind the spectacular play of Josh Hubbard. The Tigers will likely need to go on a run in the SEC tournament before next Sunday, when the selection committee decides the final NCAA Tournament field. Coach Pearl still believes Auburn can make it, especially given The Tigers' best wins this year.
Auburn’s rematch against Mississippi State will be broadcast on the SEC Network 25 minutes after the Kentucky-LSU game, which will start at 11:30 CST.
