A statement made by the Auburn Men’s Basketball team as the Tigers held on to their number one ranking with wins at Vanderbilt and number two Alabama. The win at Alabama has many experts believing this Auburn team is not only the best in country, but possibly one of the best team we’ve ever seen. The Tigers now control their destiny for the SEC regular season title with favorable matchups ahead. Here’s a recap of last week’s road wins and a look at what’s ahead for Auburn.
Auburn 80, Vanderbilt 68
The Tigers traveled to Nashville (or “Auburn North”) on Tuesday. Fans from the local area poured into Memorial Coliseum to cheer Auburn on.
The Tigers opened the game with an electric 13-2 run including a pair of three-pointers from Miles Kelly and Denver Jones. The Commodores would respond late in the half to cut the lead to 34-32 at halftime.
After Vanderbilt took their first lead of the game, Auburn’s Chaney Johnson would take control scoring nine straight points as the Tigers took a ten point lead. Johnson would finish the game with 20 points.
Johni Broome had 17 points and Denver Jones scored 21 points.
Pearl was concerned about his team’s defensive effort especially late in the first half saying, ““Our identity has got to be on the defensive end, because that’s the one thing we can control. If we’re going to continue to win, our defense is going to have to carry us and lead the way.”
Auburn 94, Alabama 85
Auburn met Alabama in a historic encounter inside Coleman Coliseum Saturday. With the number one ranking and the SEC regular season title on the line, Auburn showed why they are the number one team in the country with a commanding performance.
The Tigers set the tone with a 9-0 run off three point shots from Miles Kelly and Johni Broome.
Auburn would take a nine-point lead into halftime with a three-point shot from Chaney Johnson with 17 seconds to play.
The Crimson Tide responded with a run of their own to tie the game at 65 points before Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford knocked down a three-pointer to regain the lead. After another three-pointer from Alabama’s Chris Youngblood, Chad Baker-Mazara hit another three-pointer to give Auburn the lead for good.
A Johni Broome jump shot would give the Tigers a 10 point lead with 1:14 to play as the Tigers would go on to win in Tuscaloosa.
“All eyes of college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC,” said Pearl, who earned his second career victory in a battle of the nation’s top teams. “I’m a big fan of making history and I know that 1-2s are rare. We’ve got two road wins in the 1-2 matchup that I will cherish.”
Six Tigers were in double figures including Broome, Pettiford, Baker-Mazara, Jones, and Kelly.
The Tigers shot 46% from three and Bama shot just 19% despite averaging 46% per game.
Coach Pearl was pleased was pleased with his team’s production saying, “What our locker room feels really good about right now is that so many guys contributed,”
Looking Ahead
Auburn now returns home for a three-game homestand with some favorable matchups ahead. First up for the Tigers is the Arkansas Razorbacks who are struggling to find consistency under first year head coach John Calipari.
The Razorbacks are coming off a 69-61 loss at 7th ranked Texas A&M over the weekend. The Hogs have been competitive against the conference’s best teams and do have a win at Kentucky.
Tip-off for that game will be February 18th at 8:00 p.m. CT with coverage on ESPN.
Auburn will welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to town on Saturday. The Tigers were able to pull off the victory last month in Athens by a final of 70-68.
Since then, the Bulldogs have plummeted and are fighting to stay in contention for the NCAA Tournament.
Georgia is on a three-game losing streak and has the week off before facing the Tigers.
Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m CT with coverage still to be determined.
