12.15/22 Articles

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[aubiefifty 16,761]

 

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Takeaways from Auburn basketball's 72-64 win over Georgia State

Lance Dawe

4–5 minutes

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Auburn avoided a meltdown following their first loss of the season to Memphis last week, recovering from a 31-28 halftime deficit to defeat Georgia State 0-0.

The No. 19 Tigers (9-1, 0-0 SEC) had another poor shooting night, as has been the standard - an impressive 51% from the floor because of the second-half resurgence, but a mere 25% % from deep (surprisingly their fifth-best outing of the season in ten games).

Jaylin Williams led the way with 20 points, and Wendell Green Jr. eclipsed 1,000 career points with his 17 on the night. Johni Broome was the only other Tiger to finish in double-figures with 13.

The team racked up 11 blocks - no surprise there for the second-best shot-blocking team in the nation.

Everything ramps up from here for Bruce Pearl's squad. Here are four takeaways from tonight's win.

Georgia State was undersized, and elected to foul - a lot

This is nothing new to Auburn fans. Physical defense and lots of fouling is how opponents have usually elected to slow down Bruce Pearl teams in the past. Historically speaking, Pearl's teams have not been prolific at the foul line, and the response (most notably in SEC play) has been to apply pressure and foul.

Georgia State had a season-high 25 times. The Tigers got to the line 30 times (the second time that has happened this year) and hit 19 free throws. That opponent free-throw rate will lose a game.

A Jaylin Williams masterclass

Williams finished with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks... and he did nothing to step out of his element to collect those numbers.

It was the same ol' for Williams, who knocked down a few floaters in the paint and hit a couple of corner threes; it was his typical offensive arsenal, that soft touch around the rim on one end and aggression on the other that helped carry the Tigers to a win.

With the inefficiency elsewhere, it's refreshing to see Jaylin have such a good night.

Auburn's offensive stagnation has produced an uncharacteristic style of basketball

Did you know Auburn is 10th in the SEC in assists per game? That's the worst mark in league play for the Tigers since Bruce Pearl's inaugural season on the Plains in 2014-15. They had 12 assists against the Panthers tonight.

I'm not quite sure what to blame the poor shooting on, whether that be personnel issues, scheme, or matchups, but the assists are a direct correlation with how Pearl gets his Tigers to operate their offense. It goes against the near decade of data he has set up at Auburn - in fact, three times have the Tigers failed to finish in the top half of the SEC in assists under him - and two of those were his first two years.

Bruce Pearl teams (normally) share the basketball.

Something isn't clicking behind the scenes. Not questioning team chemistry - a strength of Pearl's coaching ability - but there is a disconnect somewhere.

A look into the crystal ball shows a murky future for the Tigers

Auburn got the win. Nice. But 10 games into the season, and the Tigers have yet to buck the "poor shooting, Iowa football-esque offense, ugly dog fight" narrative that has dictated all but three of their contests.

The look-ahead on the schedule is immediately followed by concern; Auburn travels to play at USC and Washington before opening up SEC play at home against Florida. Folks, there is no reprieve after this one.

The Tigers have to do something soon to fix their offensive problems - one-third of the way into the season and it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Buckle in for some grit and grind basketball.

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Observations from No. 18 Auburn’s 72-64 win vs. Georgia State

Published: Dec. 14, 2022, 10:56 p.m.

5–6 minutes

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Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl didn’t mask his displeasure with his team’s effort when speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s 72-64 win against Georgia State.

“Little disappointed with our play in the first half,” Pearl said. “We opened up the game 2-of-14 from the field. I thought we got good looks. But there’s got to be more accountability with our players for their play. There just does.”

Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 20 points and scored 13 in the second half. Wendell Green had 17 points on 11-15 shooting from the free-throw line. He went over the 1,000-point mark for his career during the Tiger win. One of the issues Pearl was dismayed about was Green leaving the game with a little under 40 seconds with an apparent injury to his right ankle.

Green joined Johni Broome as Tigers’ to go over 1,000 points this season. Broome finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.

“Yeah, Wendell turned his ankle,” Pearl said. “He’ll be evaluated. Probably will be out a couple of days.”

Auburn won after trailing 31-28 at halftime while shooting 31.8% percent (7-22) and 16.7% from three on 1-6 attempts. Here are a few observations from the win.

Bruce Pearl elected not to play backup guard K.D. Johnson. Pearl didn’t elaborate on why he chose to sit Johnson, who averages nearly 11 points per game. Johnson’s absence was noticeable.

“K.D.’s speed, quickness, and athleticism obviously would help,” Pearl said. “K.D.’s one of our best players. Obviously, he makes a difference for us.”

Johnson had played 43 consecutive games for Auburn before missing Wednesday’s game. He sat on the Tiger bench during the match, and Pearl expects Johnson back for Sunday’s game against USC in Los Angeles at the Galen Center.

-- Freshman guard Tre Donaldson saw extended minutes in Johnson’s absence. Donaldson had six points, three assists, and three steals in under 19 minutes.

“The coaches have just been telling me stay right and ready,” Donaldson said. “And they gave me an opportunity, and I took the most of my opportunity and helped lead my team to a win. So that’s all I can ask for, is the opportunity. And, on my part, I’ve just got to continue to do whatever coach tells me to do and whatever will help the team win.”

-- A positive for Auburn was the team having 11 blocks. Broome had four, and Williams had three. The Tigers only had two blocks in the loss against Memphis.

-- Auburn shot 67% in the second half on 18-27 shooting and outscored the Panthers 44-33 to secure the win at Neville. Donaldson said he believed the team was more focused.

“Just knowing our identity. Our identity is attacking the basket,” Donaldson said. “We’ve got guys like Jaylin that have amazing touch around the rim. Johni is, obviously, great around the rim. Just getting back to Auburn basketball. And the same thing defensively. Defensively, that’s our identity. Our identity is playing defense, and that’s what’s going to lead us to basketball games. Once we play defense, it leads to offense. Just getting to what we know offensively and defensively.”

-- Auburn (9-1) finishes pre-SEC play with a West Coast road trip beginning Sunday in Los Angeles vs. Southern California and next Wednesday at Washington in Seattle. Pearl knows the Tigers have to improve if they’re going to win those games with a game that weekend against Florida at home to start conference action.

“This team, in the last three games — against Colgate, Memphis, and now Georgia State — is not playing well enough to beat the teams left on our schedule,” Pearl said. “We have got to improve in order to beat the teams that are left on our schedule. The last three games that we’ve played, we’ve not played well enough to be able to continue to win. There’s got to be a level of accountability for our players to be able to make plays on both ends of the floor.”

-- Auburn collected 2,000 toys for the Toys for Tots drive held at the Georgia State game on a rainy Wednesday night on the Plains. Pearl was thankful for the gifts.

“Thanks to the people who showed up,” Pearl said. “I just think, how cool is it for the people that are running that program to take these gifts to all these kids -- to kids who probably wouldn’t be getting gifts without it. Great job. That’s Auburn being Auburn.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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K.D. Johnson is unavailable for Georgia State game

Updated: Dec. 14, 2022, 7:46 p.m.|Published: Dec. 14, 2022, 7:46 p.m.

1–2 minutes

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Bruce Pearl instructs guard K.D. Johnson during the first day of Auburn basketball practice, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, at Neville Arena. (Zach Bland/Auburn Athletics)

By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said point guard K.D. Johnson wouldn’t in Wednesday’s game at Neville Arena against Georgia State.

“I’m not playing K.D. tonight. Just sort of a coach’s decision.” Pearl said during the pregame show on the Auburn Radio Network. “It’s something internal. I would anticipate that it would be one game, and then we will get him back.”

Johnson is at the game and sitting on the Auburn bench wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. He’s typically one of the first players off the bench and usually spells starting point Wendell Green.

The Georgia transfer is averaging 10.9 points per game with 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in eight games this season for Auburn.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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Rewinding No. 18 Auburn’s 72-64 win against Georgia State

Updated: Dec. 14, 2022, 9:19 p.m.|Published: Dec. 14, 2022, 7:02 p.m.

5–6 minutes

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Auburn defeated Georgia State on Wednesday at Neville Arena with a 72-64 final score. Jaylin Williams led the Tigers with 20 points, with 13 of the points coming in the second half. The 13 points by Williams helped Auburn overcome a 31-28 halftime deficit.

Wendell Green had 17 points on 11-15 from the free throw line. K.D. Johnson wasn’t available for the game because of a coaching decision, according to Bruce Pearl.

Green left the game less than 30 seconds left with what appeared to be a foot injury. Auburn (9-1) travels to West Coast for a game against Southern Cal on Sunday at the Galen Center. Here’s the highlights from the game.

2nd Half

Auburn 72 Georgia State 64 final

Auburn 69 Georgia State 63 42.6 seconds 2nd Half

Allen Flanigan’s dunk puts Auburn up by eight points. Green missed both free throws and Tucker scored a layup with less than a minute left. Still a two-possession game.

Auburn 63 Georgia State 54 3:25 2nd Half

Broome scores his ninth point on a two-handed dunk with less than four minutes left. Jaylin Williams leads the Tigers with 20 points. Wendell Green has 17 points with 11 of the points coming off 11-18 free throw shooting.

Auburn 57 Georgia State 48 6:51 2nd Half

Green goes 1-2 from the line after getting fouled in the paint.

Auburn 52 Georgia State 44 9:34 2nd Half

Auburn goes up by 10 on a Donaldson three-pointer. Evan Johnson got fouled by Donaldson on a three-point attempt and made three free throws. Broom went 1/2 on free throws after getting fouled on a layup attempt.

Auburn 46 Georgia State 41 11:12 2nd Half

Tre Donaldson hit a layup at the bucket to put Auburn ahead by five. Donaldson got the ball off a Dylan Cardwell blocked shot. Cardwell also made a layup on the previous possession at the 11:45 mark.

Auburn 42 Georgia State 38 13:02 2nd Half

Green is 10-11 from the free throw after hitting two more to give Auburn a four-point lead.

Auburn 40 Georgia State 38 13:18 2nd Half

Wendell Green gets fouled on a layup and makes the shot. He finished the three-point with a free throw to give Auburn a two-point lead.

Auburn 35 Georgia State 36 15:23 2nd Half

Allen Flanigan got called for a tech and Odom made 1-2 free throws. Hudson ‘s layup gives the Panthers a six point lead. Williams hit a three to pull Auburn back within three points and Auburn forced a 30 second shot clockviolation on the ensuing possession.

Broome hit a layup with 15:47 left in the game

1st Half

Auburn 28 Georgia State 31 end of 1st Half

Green hit a layup at the 25-second mark to stop a 3:46-minute skid where Auburn didn’t score a field goal while Georgia State increased its lead. Auburn is shooting 7-22 from the field.

Auburn 25 Georgia State 26 1:31 1st Half

Kalik Brooks leads all scorers with eight points and is 3-3 from the field, with Georgia State taking a one-point lead.

Auburn 19 Georgia State 16 5:51 1st Half

Auburn is 8-8 from the free throw line, 5-19 from the field, and 1-6 from three.

Auburn 15 Georgia State 10 8:52 1st Half

Williams hits two free throws, and Auburn is up by five points.

Auburn 13 Georgia State 10 9:27 1st Half

Jaylin Williams hits a corner three to give Auburn an 11-8 lead. The Tigers are 1-5 from three after the shot by Williams. Moore hit a layup, and Auburn takes a 13-10 lead.

Auburn 8 Georgia State 8 11:10 1st Half

Auburn is shooting 2-14 from the field and 0-4 from three. Georgia State is 4-12 and 0-3 from three. Wendell Green leads Auburn with 4 points, all from free throws.

Auburn 6 Georgia State 4 15:53 1st Half

Auburn is shooting 1-4 and 0-1 from three. Georgia State is 2-6 from the field and 0-2 from behind the three-point line. Wendell Green hit both free throws at the 15:54 mark to give Auburn a 6-4 lead.

Auburn 4 Georgia State 2 16:40 1st Half

Wendell Green cashed in two free throws with 16:40 left, ending a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes. Odom scored on a layup to put the Panthers on the scoreboard at the 16:48 ark.

Auburn 2 Georgia State 0 18:14

Broome scores the first bucket of the game at the 19:01 mark. Broome also got honored during the pre-game festivities for scoring his 1000th career point a week ago.

Pregame

Welcome to Neville Arena on a cold, rainy Tuesday night for No.18 Auburn’s (8-1) home game against Georgia State.

Bruce Pearl hopes to get Auburn back on the winning track after Saturday’s loss against Memphis in Atlanta at State Farm Arena.

Wendell Green, Zep Jasper, Jaylin Williams, Chris Moore, and Johni Broome are the starters for Pearl’s squad against the Panthers.

Dwon Odom, Brenden Tucker, Ja’ Heim Hudson, Kalik Brooks, and Edward Nnamoko will start for the Panthers at Neville Arena.

We’ll have live updates and post-game coverage. Follow along here at Al.Com

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Instant Impressions: Auburn 72, Georgia State 64

Nathan King

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — The Tigers walked away Wednesday with a win, but their offense still isn’t where Bruce Pearl wanted it to be after their last nonconference home game of the season.

Auburn found an offensive groove down the stretch but still allowed Georgia State to hang around in a game, ultimately winning 72-64, after being better than a 20-point favorite.

Here are Auburn Undercover’s immediate takeaways.

Ineffective first-half offense

Pearl and his players said this week their energy wasn’t where it needed to be in their first loss of the season against Memphis, and Pearl also noted Tuesday’s practice wasn’t up to their standards, either. 

And Auburn certainly appeared sluggish out of the gates Wednesday. The Tigers missed 11 of their first 12 shots of the game and didn’t make their second basket until the 12:25 mark of the first half.

With K.D. Johnson unavailable due to a coach’s decision, Pearl said on the pregame radio broadcast, Auburn had to deploy some unorthodox lineups, including a stretch of more than 5 minutes with Tre Donaldson, Lior Berman, Allen Flanigan, Yohan Traore and Dylan Cardwell. Georgia State grabbed its first lead, 26-24 with 2:07 remaining in the first half, with that lineup on the floor.

Adding to an unsightly first half shooting the ball (7-of-22 from the floor), Auburn had five turnovers in a 3-minute stretch before halftime, allowing Georgia State to go up as many as 6 points, 31-25.

Close to a career game for Williams

As he’s done so many times in his Auburn career, senior forward Jaylin Williams seemed capable of pulling the Tigers out of a slump whenever they needed it.

Georgia State grabbed its largest lead of the game, 36-30 a few minutes into the second half, then Williams nailed his second 3-ball of the game to swing some momentum back Auburn’s way. That led to a 10-2 run — including 5 points from Williams, an offensive board from Cardwell and an and-one finish from Wendell Green Jr. — to give Auburn its first lead, 40-38, since the 3:32 mark of the first half, and force Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes into a timeout.

Williams’ 20 points are his most in a game since he had 21 in February 2021 against Georgia his sophomore year.

Green Jr. got into a good rhythm in the second half and dropped 17 points, including his 1,000th career point. He had to leave the game with less than a minute left, needing assistance to get off the court, and limping on his right foot. 

Center Johni Broome quietly got into double figures (13 points) for the fourth straight game.

Script flipped in second half

Auburn shot a whopping 66.7 percent in the second half — its highest-scoring half of the season — and 32 of its 44 points came in the paint. The Tigers finished the game making 13 of their last 16 shots.

Georgia State threatened a late run and got within as few as 6 points in the final minutes, but a steal by Donaldson and a breakaway dunk from Allen Flanigan helped the Tigers seal the deal.

A season-high 11 blocked shots, led by four from Broome, helped keep the Panthers at bay down the stretch.

Pearl might have his backup point guard

With former top-5o overall recruit Chance Westry still struggling as he returns from a knee injury, Pearl looked to his next option as the backup point guard to Green Jr.

Donaldson, a 3-star true freshman, hadn’t logged double-digit minutes in four games and hadn’t scored since the third game of the season. He notched a career-high 6 points, including a driving basket through contact, then a 3-pointer two possessions later during a 9-0 run for Auburn in the second half.

He's still a freshman, though, and made some rookie mistakes. Twice in the second half Donaldson fouled a 3-point shooter, but he made up for it with a team-high three steals.

4COMMENTS

With Auburn down Johnson in its backcourt rotation, Donaldson's 18 minutes were five more than his previous season high.

Auburn Undercover will update this story. Check back for additional information.

">247Sports

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

From the benching of KD to the post game presser, you can tell CBP is not happy with the rotations and things will be different. We are a mess at the 2 right now. I think that is spot that is most holding this group back. Someone has to start scoring from the two to open up other stuff. Zep and Chance have given us almost nothing from that spot. Both have shown they can be better than what we have seen. KD is KD and that isn't going to change. What he did to get sat down nobody is saying. I will be watching him closely to see if any element of his game changes when he returns. 

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[AUGoo 2,659]

Explains what's going on with Westry. 

I keep forgetting he is  coming back from his arthroscopy.