Post Game thread

[GwillMac6 20,671]

 

[GwillMac6 20,671]

 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Hard to play a bunch of good games in a row. Sometimes you have to win ugly. I'll take it and look forward to Saturday. 

[tgrogan21 6,198]

To anyone who is REALLY worried go and look at the scores right now. #3 L$U won by 5, #10 Wisconsin won, #4 F$U won by 7, #11 Belmont is within 1, #15 Bradley is within 1. It's the nature of the beast when you get to March. Survive and advance that's all that matters. 

[looney 794]

9 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

To anyone who is REALLY worried go and look at the scores right now. #3 L$U won by 5, #10 Wisconsin won, #4 F$U won by 7, #11 Belmont is within 1, #15 Bradley is within 1. It's the nature of the beast when you get to March. Survive and advance that's all that matters. 

Largest margin of victory so far (10 by MINN) is an upset (on paper, anyway).

[Gowebb11 9,314]

It was a sloppy ending, but a win, and we’re in our second consecutive March Madness. I will take it. SO happy to see AU MBB and WBB both in the big dance, with baseball and softball highly ranked. We’ve came a long way. WDE!🦅

[doverstutts 1,643]

i try not to covet, but oh my, how i would love to have ja morant be an AU tiger...my goodness, he is something else

[gr82be 14,423]

1 hour ago, Brad_ATX said:

Dear OP,

It's the freaking NCAA Tournament.  If you win at all, it's not "disappointing or unacceptable".  Kindly go jump in a lake.

Sincerely,

Long Suffering AU Hoops Fans Everywhere Who Have Waited Years For Any Kind of Success

 

[jared52 4,354]

5 win or go home games in 8 days. Some of you would pass out playing slow pitch softball 2 nights in a row. 

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

Happy to get the win because this team has shown the potential to play with anybody. They know, if they play their best basketball, that they can achieve what they want to achieve. We’re still undefeated in March, and I will continue to have faith in this team until until they lose one. Like I said before, they’ve come a long way from that down trend following the uab game.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

I think we just basically played ourselves in this game. A deep lineup, 3 point shooters, fast-paced. We were more tired and we still won. I'll take it. Get some rest boys. Don't get down. You're still dancing!!!

[oracle79 3,569]

31 minutes ago, jared52 said:

5 win or go home games in 8 days. Some of you would pass out playing slow pitch softball 2 nights in a row. 

How do you ever make an out in slow pitch? I'd think the first team to hit would be worn out from running bases.

[fredst 9,064]

Ask Marquette how they feel playing as a #5 seed. Ugly but I’ll take a win and hope AU got poor play out of their system withthat last 6-8 minutes today

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Survive and advance. I will take a 1 point win every game. 

That team had won 19 straight games. They are basically playing home and the crowd was with them. 

We played the worst 5 minutes of the season- to end BOTH halves. And we won. 

And I know most don’t want to hear this but Everything after the SEC championship banner is just a bonus. Just have fun with it. 

[Randman5000 4,226]

1 hour ago, jared52 said:

5 win or go home games in 8 days. Some of you would pass out playing slow pitch softball 2 nights in a row. 

[Beaker 2,457]

Pretty sure we beat Kansas back in 85 during our run.

KS almost lost to NM State this season....

I look fwd to watching some Jayhawk BB tonight.   What the heck is a jayhawk anyhow?  I am not a bird expert, but pretty sure that is a made up animal like the unicorn.   

[AUFAN78 3,894]

3 hours ago, doverstutts said:

I am just glad we won, but NMSU played at the same altitude that we did....bruce needs to make them go back to the hotel and rest,have meals brought to them.......basketball is much more nerve wracking than football for me, or at least it is NOW

NMSU plays regularly at altitude. Huge advantage.

[AUFAN78 3,894]

3 hours ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

I don't know if we're being facetious here or not. But I doubt oxygen deprivation at 4200 ft would cause us to be that absent minded.

You should try it.

[boisnumber1 2,818]

It could be much worse. We could have lost to Norfolk State at home...in the NIT.

[KolchakAU85 430]

I had to work today and couldn't watch or listen to the game.  I checked in every now and then on the internet, and sure felt good with a double-digit lead with 4 minutes left to play.  Wow, I'm glad I didn't see the ending.  I would have been in misery.

Looking at the box score, three things come to mind:

1. How little production we got from our center position.

2. How badly we got out-rebounded.

3. J'Von!!!!  Wow, he has come a long way in the last few games.  Very glad for him.

[around4ever 4,139]

Well deserved praise for McCormick

 

J'Von McCormick shines when Auburn needed it

 

 

J'Von McCormick scored a game-high 16 points.

Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics

Ben Wolk • AuburnSports.com

@benjaminwolk

 

SALT LAKE CITY — J'Von McCormick had a feeling what was about to happen.

He'd heard Bruce Pearl tell the team New Mexico State struggled from the free-throw line. He knew the Aggies leading scorer Terrell Brown would have to make all three free throws to win the game outright. So McCormick, amid his most outstanding moment of the season, looked Brown dead in the eyes and gave him a choking sign as if to say: You can't make these free throws.

In poor taste? Maybe to some. But it foreshadowed the biggest moment of Auburn's season.

"I saw in his face he was pretty scared," McCormick said after the win.

McCormick's expectations turned out to be true. 

Brown missed two of three, which helped Auburn hold onto a 78-77 advantage in the wild final seconds. 

Of course, it was McCormick's day. He could do no wrong. The junior-college transfer was one of Auburn's two players brought to the postgame podium. That's a recognition saved for whoever is deemed one of the two best performers in the game.

Nobody deserved to be at the podium more than McCormick.

"Whenever Von’s number is called, Von is always ready," Austin Wiley said.

Auburn's basketball Twitter account posted a video that summed up the team's reaction to McCormick NCAA Tournament debut.

In the postgame locker room, Bruce Pearl spoke to the team about surviving and advancing, how there were playmaking moments even through the late-game frustrations. He pointed at McCormick and said: "How 'bout this sucker right here?" Bryce Brown stood up and gave McCormick a hug, thanking him for saving his senior season with his added production.

It was a moment McCormick said he'll never forget.

"It’s pretty nice, especially coming from BP. He’s always getting onto me the most," McCormick said, smiling wide. "It’s just good. I feel like I got a burden off my shoulders that he gave me some praise like that in front of the whole team."

He finished the game with a season-high 16 points. McCormick made 6-of-8 shots, all three of his free throws, his only 3-point attempt and closed the game out with Jared Harper fouled out. McCormick's lone 3-point make moved him 10-of-17 from deep this season, a shockingly high percentage for someone who has so few attempts.

Nobody inside the Auburn locker room was surprised by this performance.

"J’Von doesn’t really miss shots," Okeke said.

"He's really a starter coming of the bench," Malik Dunbar interjected during a McCormick interview.

"It’s just doing what he do. He just makes plays. He’s an elite driver when he gets downhill. He just makes shots," Harper added.

A year ago, McCormick was still in junior college, unsure what his next move would be. He re-iterated Thursday he never believed this kind of moment could happen for someone like him. But he also made it clear he didn't think a moment like this would've been possible for him without the rigorous obstacle of junior-college life.

He's dealt with his own challenges this season — having to play a complementary role for Harper or Brown, but especially handling Pearl's criticisms.

On Thursday, Pearl was short on content in that regard.

"The reason why I’m usually hard on guys because either: One, they’re afraid to fail, and I’d rather they be afraid of me than failing. The second thing is, I want more. I’ve been on J’Von all year long to be a more effective defender, to not be afraid to make plays, to stop being out there just logging minutes and worried about making mistakes. That’s what I get on him for," Pearl said. "I have not had to get on him for that in this tournament or in Nashville because he’s out there making plays and isn’t afraid to fail."

[Mikey 16,578]

I thought we played well and looked like Auburn for the first, say, 32 minutes. Those last eight or so minutes we made some really, really dumb mistakes that aren't characteristic for this team. Lets call it a combination of mental and physical fatigue of both the coaches and players that should be over with by Saturday.

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

4 hours ago, Beaker said:

Pretty sure we beat Kansas back in 85 during our run. 

In the 2nd Round yes. Then lost to North Carolina in the 3rd Round. This after winning our first SEC Tournament. Hope the deja vu stops after Saturday.

[akillshot 294]

I think this guy captured it pretty well

https://cbbtoday.com/mens/auburn-hopes-the-past-is-done-the-present-is-a-guide-and-the-future-is-gold/amp/

 

[auskull 239]

I don't watch many BB games but I made sure to watch this one. Very surprised the way NMS pressure got to us the last 5 minutes. As if the BB gods were with them. Just hoping we get to Kansas with our tenacious defense and hot shooters. My unseasoned observations: even with our size advantage we are not an inside game team. This could have been a 20 point blowout. NMS got the most out of their team. WDE.