1/11/23 Auburn Articles

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Takeaways from Auburn basketball’s 82-73 win vs. Ole Miss

Jeremy Robuck

~3 minutes

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The Auburn Tigers followed up their win over Arkansas Saturday with an inspired victory away in Oxford. The first half was close throughout, but the Tigers began to pull away in the second half and really ran away with it. Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game.

Auburn is starting to look more confident as a team

This season has had good moments, but there’s no denying it has been messy out there for the Tigers despite being talented and having a good record. After a big win over the Razorbacks and now a win on the road this Auburn team looks like they are getting it together. They look like a team out there. They look like they finally have confidence in what they’re doing. They look more comfortable in their roles and appear to finally have found some rhythm and chemistry. This has been a great week for Auburn basketball.

Allen Flanigan is playing well

Fresh off a stellar 18 point performance, Allen Flanigan suddenly looks confident as he scored an efficient 15 points. It is safe to say Flanigan looks better than he has in years lately. He’s rebounding. He’s shooting well. He’s playing hard on defense. It’s been rocky for Flanigan for so long you have to be happy for a guy to find success after what he’s been through.

Wendell Green Jr. and Johni Broome look great

Johni Broome is a monster out there lately. He just broke a record for consecutive double doubles. He is a man among boys out there right now. Wendell Green Jr. looks like he has his swag back. He looks confident out there. He’s aggressive, and the leadership of these two guys is setting the tone out there for the team. Feelings around the Auburn basketball program got low due to sloppy play over the last month, but it’s safe to say the Tigers have officially bounced back. This Auburn team will enjoy this win as they prepare for Mississippi State at home Saturday. It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger.

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5 takeaways from Auburn's 82-73 win at Ole Miss

Nathan King

9–11 minutes

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The sky was falling for some Auburn fans last week after a loss at Georgia. Since, the Tigers have won back-to-back SEC contests with a pair of impressive performances.

No. 21 Auburn had four scorers reach double figures, and used a big second half to pull away from Ole Miss on the road Tuesday night, winning 82-73 in Oxford for the team's fifth victory in the past seven meetings in the series.

"I think our offense is starting to come together," point guard Wendell Green Jr. said postgame. "Guys are starting to play better, myself included. We feel very comfortable out there. We're just playing. They played pretty good defense and switched it up a lot. We're just very comfortable. I like how we're going. We're progressing."

Auburn has now started 3-1 or better in SEC play in four of the past six seasons.

Here are Auburn Undercover's five biggest takeaways.

Moore injured, but Flanigan steps up again

Junior starting forward Chris Moore fouled Matthew Murrell on a drive to the basket less than three minutes into the game and immediately grabbed his right shoulder, wincing. He exited the game, went to the locker room then returned to the bench still in the first half, but didn’t check back in.

After halftime, Moore’s arm was in a sling, and his shoulder iced.

His backup, the senior wing Allen Flanigan, continued his success in SEC play, though, with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Flanigan has now reached double figures scoring in three straight games after only doing so three times in the first 13 games.

"I just went in there and did what I’m supposed to do for this team," Flanigan said. "That’s one of my jobs on this team it to be aggressive night in and night out, and pick us up wherever we need to be picked up, whether that’s rebounding, playing harder defensively, getting guys shots or taking shots.”

Playing a season-high 34 minutes with zero turnovers, Flanigan poured in 9 points during a 19-8 run for Auburn to open the second half, as the Tigers went up double digits on a Dylan Cardwell put-back dunk with 12:04 left.

Pearl had no update on Moore after the win. He said Moore's shoulder separated, and he'll have an MRI back in Auburn on Wednesday.

Veteran big men stand out

Johni Broome continues to prove himself as Auburn’s go-to scorer and arguably the team’s most important player for the better part of the past three weeks.

The junior center scored Auburn’s first 7 points of the night, had 12 in the first half and finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead the Tigers. He logged his fourth straight double-double, with 11 rebounds, after only one double-double in the first 11 games of the season.

His effectiveness on the boards helped Auburn with a plus-10 advantage on the glass, including 12 offensive rebounds.

The Morehead State transfer became the first Auburn player to record four straight double-doubles since Cinmeon Bowers in 2015.

"Johni Broome, again, the best big on the floor," Bruce Pearl said. "Just so consistent and just gives us that inside scoring threat at the five that not a lot of teams in the league have."

His fellow big men had nice nights, too. Cardwell played just 10 minutes but had two thunderous dunks and four rebounds.

Senior forward Jaylin Williams had 10 of his 12 points in the second half, making all four of his shots after the break, dishing four assists and grabbing two steals, too.

Auburn's frontcourt helped the Tigers notch a dominant performance around the basket, with a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint.

"The combination of guys getting downhill, Johni finishing around the rim, so very, very important," Pearl said. "And again, you know, I thought we, again, the veterans, we played with some poise, and with some purpose."

Rare timeout key for Auburn

Pearl burned a rare timeout less than eight minutes into the game, with Auburn down 19-12. Ole Miss had come out hot, making seven of its first 12 shots, and it appeared the Tigers could be in danger of going down double digits on the road once again, similar to when it struggled offensively last week in the loss at Georgia.

It proved to be a smart move, as Auburn quickly went on a 6-0 run in just 69 seconds, and proceeded to outscore Ole Miss 22-16 the rest of the half.

After the timeout, Auburn's defense settled in and put the Rebels in a consistent bind for the next 20-plus minutes of game time. Jaemyn Brakefield and Murrell combined for 36 points on the night, but Ole Miss missed 20 of its next 28 shots after Pearl's timeout (28.6 percent) deep into the second half.

Pearl said it was assistant coach Steven Pearl suggested before the game that a timeout be used if Ole Miss grabbed an early lead.

"Having Steven said that to me pregame, it was in my mind, that if it happened, and so we did," Pearl said. "And we were very calmed out in the timeout. We talked about what we weren't doing. Bottom line is they were driving to the basket. It's like: 'Look, how can we be talking about gaps — help, help the helper, sink — and they're driving right around us, slipped around us, and they're getting to the rim. How's that possible? It's not. So you guys better get in the paint and make them kick it out.' And we started to do a better job of building a wall and not letting them drive around us."

The Rebels went on a couple mini runs late in the game, hanging around in single digits with four straight makes and forcing Pearl into a timeout. Ole Miss came as close as 7 points after Tye Fagan hit a corner triple with 76 seconds left, but Green Jr. helped the Tigers close out, with 8 points in the final four minutes, including 6-of-6 free throws.

Auburn ultimately shot 61 percent in the second half and scored 48 points. It now has just 28 turnovers in three SEC games, as compared to 15.4 per night in the final five games of nonconference play.

"The Georgia, USC, Memphis losses: High turnovers leading to transition, so if we wanted to start winning, that was just first and foremost on our list," Pearl said. "And so the question is, where do you turn the ball over?' Johni, if we're gonna run offense through you, you can't give the ball to the other team when you get doubled, or whatever. Al, you can't — take the open shot. Don't shot fake and get closer every time and get stripped and ripped. Wendell, you've got to pick your spots when you get into the paint. And what it does is it just doesn't allow the the opponent to get easy baskets. That's it. Don't turn it over. Don't give them easy baskets. It's a pretty easy formula to win."

Green Jr. works out of slow start

Unsurprisingly considering he’s a veteran floor general, Green Jr.’s success is usually a key to Auburn’s offensive efficiency, in any game.

Broome’s standout first half was able to offset it, but Green Jr. struggled to find his shot out of the gates, starting 1-for-7, though he did have a game-high five assists in the first half.

He turned on the heater after the break, though, with a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to help the Tigers during their strong run out of the locker room. Green Jr. finished with a season-high 22 points, now with 41 points over the past two wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss. Defensively, he now has six steals over the past two games.

"Wendell Green was the best point guard on the floor," Pearl said. "Again, doesn't get enough credit. One of the best point guards in the country. Made plays on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively."

On the night, Green Jr. went a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line, and the Tigers as a team were 18-of-22.

"I mean, you've got to make 'em," Green Jr. said. "It felt good to go perfect from the line tonight. I've been getting to the line a little bit more this year than I have ever in my career. Just wanted to keep attacking, keep finishing. Got to make your free throws on the road."

More accountability after Georgia loss

Flanigan said after Auburn lost in Athens, the team had a meeting the following day and talked about improving accountability amongst themselves, and handling criticism from their coaching staff better.

The result has been back-to-back SEC wins.

"I think there's been more leadership, for sure," Pearl said. "And more accountability. Here's the deal, one of the things you try to explain: I have a job to do, but this is not my team. It's their team. If we don't win I'll say it's more my team and not their team, I'll try to take the heat off of them. But I've been coaching so long, and I've had so many teams, these guys have got 2, 3, 4 years. That's it.

"And when they take ownership of it, and are able to be accountable, be able to call each other on things, go to their strengths, I do — I think their communication has been better."

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Johni Broome's 4th straight double-double leads No. 21 Auburn past Ole Miss

Updated: Jan. 10, 2023, 11:11 p.m.|Published: Jan. 10, 2023, 10:17 p.m.

7–9 minutes

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Johni Broome may be a newcomer at Auburn, but the big man has been around long enough to know what works.

It’s why, when asked Monday about his string of three straight double-doubles, he somewhat downplayed the significance of that individual feat while acknowledging it felt good to be the first Auburn player since Austin Wiley in 2019-20 to accomplish it.

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“From my collegiate years, double-doubles help your team win,” Broome said, matter-of-factly. “That means you’re doing good things on the court. I’m rebounding. I’m scoring. I’m producing on both ends of the court. If I do my job, the rest of the guys are going to follow up and do their job, and we’ll win games.”

Broome put that to the test again Tuesday night on the road, putting together his fourth consecutive double-double — finishing with 19 points (on 8-of-13 shooting) and 11 rebounds — to lead No. 21 Auburn to an 82-73 win against Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. In the process, the Morehead State transfer became the first Auburn player in seven seasons (Cinmeon Bowers in 2015-16) to post four double-doubles in a row.

Broome didn’t waste time in notching his latest one, either. He scored the first seven points of the game for Auburn, then closed the half with a dunk in the final seconds to get the Tigers within one at the break and give him 12 points and eight boards in the opening stanza despite hurting his thumb on the final defensive possession of the half. He then opened the second half with a layup to put Auburn ahead by one — a lead the Tigers would never relinquish — and he secured his 10th rebound with 17:18 to play after contesting a transition layup by Ole Miss’ Myles Burns and corralling the miss.

“Johni Broome, again, the best big on the floor,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Just so consistent and just gives us that inside scoring threat at the five that not a lot of teams in the league have.”

Broome now has 40 career double-doubles, as his teams improved to 30-10 in those games. Auburn, meanwhile, moved to 13-3 on the season and improved to 3-1 in SEC play as the Tigers kicked off a pivotal stretch with a welcomed win away from Neville Arena.

“Road wins are huge in the SEC because, I mean, it’s a dogfight every night,” senior wing Allen Flanigan said. “There’s a lot of good teams in the SEC, and there’s a lot of teams that can upset you too, so just taking every game seriously and showing up to play, and especially on road games. Road games are huge.”

Here are AL.com’s key takeaways from Tuesday’s action:

Chris Moore injures his shoulder

Chris Moore has started all 16 games for Auburn this season, but his status moving forward is now in question. Moore left Tuesday’s game early in the first half after injuring his right shoulder in the game’s opening minutes, and he did not return to the court.

Moore checked out with 17:36 to go in the first half after sustaining the injury, and he clutched his right shoulder as he went to the bench to get checked out by the team trainer. When Auburn came out of the locker room at halftime, Moore had his right arm in a sling, and the team officially ruled out a return against the Rebels.

Moore’s absence resulted in a larger workload for Allen Flanigan (more on him in a minute) and saw Bruce Pearl turn to Lior Berman for some relief at the three-spot. Berman played just four minutes and only recorded a foul on a rebound attempt, while Flanigan logged a season-high 34 minutes off the bench.

Pearl did not have an update on Moore after the game, only saying that the junior separated his shoulder. Moore will undergo an MRI on Wednesday after the team gets back to Auburn, at which point Pearl will know more about the extent of the injury.

Allen Flanigan is finding his groove

Allen Flanigan is finally getting back to his old self and playing some of the best basketball of his career, and it showed Tuesday. The Tigers’ senior wing scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and finished with five rebounds and a pair of assists without committing a turnover. He was also 5-of-5 shooting in the second half.

“I just went in there and did what I’m supposed to do for this team,” Flanigan said. “That’s one of my jobs on this team it to be aggressive night in and night out, and pick us up wherever we need to be picked up, whether that’s rebounding, playing harder defensively, getting guys shots or taking shots.”

It marked the third consecutive game in double figures for Flanigan, giving him his best scoring stretch since returning from his partially torn Achilles injury last season. It’s the first stretch of three straight double-figure scoring games for Flanigan since late in his sophomore season, when he strung together eight such games for the Tigers.

During that eight-game stretch in the 2020-21 season, Flanigan averaged 15 points per outing and shot 38-of-86 (44.2 percent) from the field, including 11-of-35 (31.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Over his last three games, Flanigan is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field, including 36.3 percent (4-of-11) from deep.

“He’s really trying to work on his game and be productive,” Pearl said. “And being aggressive without trying to force the issue. Played great defense (too).”

Auburn seized control after halftime

The first half at The Pavilion was a relatively close affair, and one during which Ole Miss held an advantage for much of the game’s opening 20 minutes.

That changed at halftime, which was all about Auburn.

After trailing by one at the break, the Tigers seized control early in the second half and never looked back. Auburn opened the half on a 12-4 run in the first 4 minutes and 34 seconds out of the locker room, turning that narrow deficit into a seven-point lead. During that stretch, Broome hit the go-ahead layup to open the second half, while Flanigan scored four points and Wendell Green Jr. knocked down a pair of 3-pointers (after going 0-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first half).

“It was good just seeing different guys step up and make shots,” Flanigan said, “but we got to be a lot better defensively if we want to win this conference.”

Ole Miss, meanwhile, hit just three of its first 10 shot attempts in the second half and never could quite recover. Auburn staked a 10-point lead on a Dylan Cardwell dunk with 12:19 to play, and the Tigers maintained a double-digit advantage for much the rest of the way. Auburn led by as many as 14, and its lead never fell below seven points over the game’s final 13 minutes.

Along with Broome’s big double-double and Flanigan’s third straight double-figure outing, Green scored a season-high 23 points to go along with seven assists (against just two turnovers) and five rebounds, while Jaylin Williams added 12 points and five assists for the Tigers. Green’s 23 points also matched his Auburn career best, which he previously set against Alabama last season.

“I think our offense is starting to come together -- guys are starting to play better, myself included,” Green said. “We feel very comfortable out there. We’re just playing. They played pretty good defense and switched it up a lot. We’re just very comfortable. I like how we’re going. We’re progressing.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Instant Analysis: Strong second half lifts Auburn to victory at Ole Miss

Taylor Jones

~3 minutes

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Tuesday’s game between No. 22 Auburn and Ole Miss began as a tight contest and appeared that the winner would be crowned within the final minute of the contest.

However, after strong second-half adjustments, Auburn outscored Ole Miss 48-38 in the second half to earn the 82-73 win at The Pavillion at Ole Miss in Oxford.

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After trailing by one point at halftime, Auburn came out of the locker room on a 12-4 run through the first five minutes of the second half to give them the 46-41 lead. Wendell Green Jr. opened the final half with six quick points. After going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, Auburn also made adjustments to attack the rim more in the second half, as they scored 46 points in the paint, 22 came in the second half.

Four players reached double-figures in scoring, led by Wendell Green Jr.’s 23, Allen Flanigan with 15, and 12 points from Jaylin Williams. Johni Broome recorded his fourth-straight double-double with 11 rebounds to go with his 19 points, which is the first since cinmeon bowers accomplished the feat during the 2015-16 season.

Both teams traded leads three times in the final 3:42 of the first half, which ended with Ole Miss taking a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. Auburn actually out-shot Ole Miss, 41% to 38% through the first 20 minutes, but three-point shooting and turning turnovers into points separated the Rebels in the end. Johni Broome ended the half with 12 points and seven rebounds, Allen Flanigan was next with six points.

Ole Miss jumped early on Auburn by taking a 15-10 lead at the under-15 media timeout. The Rebels’ hot start was fueled by their key players Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield, who combined to score 11 of Ole Miss’ 15 points. Broome scored the first seven points of the contest for Auburn, while Zep Jasper hit a three-pointer with 15:15 remaining in the half to put Auburn in double-digits.

Ole Miss led by as many as seven before Auburn stormed back to take a 20-19 lead. K.D. Johnson’s second-chance layup gave Auburn their first lead since the 16:34 mark.

Auburn returns to Neville Arena Saturday to host Mississippi State for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off. Before visiting Auburn, the Bulldogs will visit Georgia on Wednesday.

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Four Tigers step up in SEC basketball road win at Ole Miss

Mark Murphy

6–8 minutes

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OXFORD, Mississippi–Four Tigers scored in double figures, including Johni Broome who came through with  a fourth consecutive double-double, as Auburn defeated Ole Miss 82-71 on Tuesday night. Auburn improved to 3-1 in the SEC and 13-3 overall this basketball season.

Broome hit 8-13 field goals for 19 points and pulled in 11 rebounds. He was 3-4 at the foul line on a night the Tigers made 18-22 free throws.

Wendell Green led the Tigers in scoring with 23 points while dishing out seven assists with just two turnovers. Green was 11-11 at the foul line. He added five rebounds and three steals. "Wendell Green was the best point guard on the floor," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who added, "Wendell Green controlled the tempo of this game."

The Tigers got 15 points off bench from senior forward Allen Flanigan while another senior forward, Jaylin Williams, scored a dozen points and made all four of his field goals after halftime. Williams added five assists and two steals plus three rebounds.

Flanigan led all players in plus/minus with the Tigers outscoring the Rebels by 11 points when the senior forward was on the court for a team-leading 34 minutes with starter Chris Moore going down early with a shoulder injury. Flanigan added two assists and did not have a turnover on a night the Tigers had 10 for the game to eight for the home team.

"It was good see a lot of guys step up and make shots, but we have got to be a lot better defensively if we want to win this conference," said Flanigan, who hit 4-5 shots in the second half. 

"Road wins are huge in the SEC because it is a dog fight every night," Flanigan added. "There are a lot of good teams in the SEC. There are a lot of teams that can upset you. It is about taking every game seriously and showing up to play–especially in road games you have to play against the home crowd advantage they have and sometimes that gives teams streaky shots and stuff."

Matthew Murrell of Ole Miss was the game-high scorer with 24 points, but his team fell to 8-8 overall and 0-4 in the SEC. Jaemyn Brakefield scored 12 points for Ole Miss.

It was a third consecutive victory for the Tigers against the Rebels. Auburn did it by outscoring the home team 48-38 in the second half. The Tigers also did a good job rebounding, finishing with 38, 10 more than Ole Miss.

Auburn made 17-28 shots in the second half (60.7 percent) to secure the victory. The good shooting for the visitors was a must to win the game with the Rebels making 50 percent (12-24) of their shots in the second half, including 5-12 treys.

"That was wonderful," Pearl said. "It's hard to win on the road." 

The coach pointed out that the play of Broome was a big part of the win. "Again, he was the best big on the floor. He is just so consistent. He gives us that inside scoring threat at the five (center position) that not a lot of teams in the league have. We have got to continue to do a better job with that."

The first half was tight with 10 lead changes. Ole Miss led by seven points at the 13:27 mark at 17-10, but Auburn put together an 8-0 run to take the lead at 20-19. However, the Tigers led just for three minutes and 18 seconds in the first half.

Broome was Auburn’s main offensive threat in the first half with 12 points while hitting 5-7 field goals. He also pulled in seven rebounds helping the Tigers finish the half at plus nine in rebounding margin.

Johni Broome gets the basketball near the goal and looks to score. (Photo: Petre Thomas, USA TODAY Sports)

Auburn hit 13-32 field goals (40.6 percent), 1-8 threes and 7-8 free throws in the first half. Ole Miss hit 12-31 (38.7 percent) from the field, 4-13 threes and 7-7 free throws.

Auburn led almost the entire second half and the Tigers built the lead to 14 points at the 7:41 mark of the period as Green made two free throws to put his team up 62-48. The Rebels cut the lead to 74-65, but a jump shot by Green and six free throws by the point guard helped seal the victory for the visitors.

For the game the Tigers made 30-61 field goals (49.2 percent) and hit 4-14 threes. Ole Miss hit 24-55 field goals (43.6 percent) and 9-25 threes while cashing in on 16 of 18 free throw attempts.

The Rebels, one of the country's top offensive rebounding teams, finished with six, half of Auburn's total. The Tigers finished with 26 defensive rebounds, four more than Ole Miss. 

"Their 1-3-1 (zone defense) bothered us a little bit, but I thought we did make some shots," Pearl said. "Al had a big series in there where he made some big shots, took over a little bit. Wendell took over a little bit. Johni took over a little bit. I just think it's players making plays.

"The biggest thing we have emphasized is if you get deep in this league, you get in the paint, you get too deep, it's not a lot of good things happening in there. We have done a good job of not getting ourselves in trouble by not getting in there too deep so (we had) good shots. We only turned the ball over four times in the second half."

Worth Noting, Part 1: Starting forward Chris Moore injured his shoulder early in the game and did not return. Pearl said the junior has a separated shoulder and won't know until later in the week how serious the injury is.

Worth Noting Part 2: Pearl praised freshman Yohan Traore for contributing during his nine minutes on the court. He scored two points and finished second on the team in plus/minus at plus nine. "Yohan had his best run first half," the coach said. "It was great to see Yohan in there. He played well."

Broome Cleans Up at JPB Pavilion: The 6-10, 235 center has four straight double-doubles. The last Auburn player to do that was Cinmeon Bowersduring the 2015-16 season. Broome's came against SEC opponents. Bowers did his in non-conference play against Middle Tennessee, Mercer, Xavier and New Mexico. Broome has five double-doubles this season and 40 counting two seasons at Morehead State.

Stats of the Game: The Tigers made 18-22 free throws in addition to outscoring Ole Miss 46-26 for points in the paint.

Box Score

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