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What Bruce Pearl said about Saturday's controversial no-call, his team's performance at Tennessee

Taylor Jones
2–3 minutes

The No. 23 Auburn Tigers made just 24% of their shots in Saturday’s loss to No. 2 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Despite its’ poor shooting effort, the Tigers still had a chance to force overtime and possibly exit Knoxville with a win.

In the final seconds of the game, Auburn’s Wendell Green Jr. took a three-point that, if made, would have tied the game at 46-46 at the buzzer. Green’s shot was off the mark but Tennessee’s Oliver Nkamhoua appeared to have made contact with Green while he was airborne.

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The officials did not deem the contact worthy of a foul. The “what might have been” factor of the no-call was a popular topic on social media following the game, but how does Auburn’s head man feel about the incident?

After Auburn’s 46-43 loss to Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, Bruce Pearl was asked if the officials offered clarification as to what they saw.

“No. No explanation,” Pearl said while shaking his head in disappointment.

Pearl could have taken shots at the officiating crew, but instead shared accountability with the media after the game, saying that his team should have been in a better position to win without needing help from the referees.

“Very disappointed (at what happened) after the game. Very disappointed. But I have to do a better job, in practice, I just have to work on it more,” Pearl said. “We work on a lot of things, and I just have to work on in-game offense so that I can get my team better shots. That is what I am responsible for.”

Pearl also shared his regret for not setting up Johni Broome, who only took 12 shots during Saturday’s game, with more touches. He also talked about his team’s low shooting percentage.

“I think that we are going to look at it and say that we got some pretty good looks. We missed some open shots,” Pearl said. “You are playing the No. 2 team in the country, you have to make open shots because it is hard to get open shots.”

Pearl and the Tigers will now prepare for a quick turnaround, as they will play a rematch against Texas A&M on Tuesday night in Bryan-College Station, Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

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5 takeaways from Auburn's 46-43 loss at Tennessee

Nathan King
8–11 minutes

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Auburn showed plenty of fight in a road game against the No. 2 team in the country, but it needed just a couple more shots for its biggest win of the season.

And it certainly wishes one more whistle had been blown.

Despite Tennessee's elite defense that held down the Tigers most of the night, Auburn kept things tight down the stretch before ultimately falling 46-43 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Auburn begged for a foul call on the final shot of the game, when Wendell Green Jr. was defended by Tennessee's Olivier Nkamhoua on a would-be tying 3-point shot to send the game to overtime.

Here are Auburn Undercover's immediate takeaways, as the Tigers move into the second half of conference play at 7-3. The Volunteers now have two straight wins over their former head coach after losing six straight.

Controversial ending

Bruce Pearl, his staff and players were all outraged at the end of the game, when no foul was called to five Green Jr. a chance for three free throws.

Pearl said postgame he got no explanation from officials during Tennessee's celebration.

"Very disappointed at the end of the game," Pearl said. "Very disappointed."

Added Pearl: "I don't think we were affected at all by the environment, which was great." He then paused and continued: "We weren't affected by the environment."

Auburn fought from down 8 points with five minutes remaining, scoring on four of its next five possessions. After a triple by Green Jr. with 32 seconds left, Johni Broome and Auburn's trapping defense forced a turnover on Vols veteran guard Santiago Vescovi in the backourt, setting up Green Jr.'s look in the final seconds

"I've got to do a better job of getting our guys looks in practice and working on it," Pearl said. "I've just got to work on it more. We work on a lot of things, and I've just got to work on some end-game offense so I can get my team better shots. That's what I'm responsible for."

Auburn fights through Vescovi’s huge shot

Tennessee’s second 3-pointer of the entire game couldn’t have come at a bigger time.

A pair of free throws by Jaylin Williams kept Auburn chugging along, bringing it to a one-possession game at 40-38. Then Vescovi drilled a triple, and was fouled by K.D. Johnson for a 4-point play, pushing the lead suddenly back to 6.

Auburn benefited from two missed free throws by Tobe Awaka, though, and Green Jr. buried a pull-up triple with 32 seconds left to cut it to a 3-point lead.

"I don't think we were affected at all by the environment, which was great." Pearl then paused and continued: "We weren't affected by the environment."

And after Rick Barnes had to call timeout when the Vols couldn’t inbound the ball, they barely got in play the next time around. But the Tigers trapped effectively, Broome forced Vescovi to the sideline, and it ended up a Tennessee turnover.

Pearl opted for a quick 2-point shot, and Broome scored with 17 seconds left on a put-back after a miss by Williams.

Zakai Zeigler made both his free throws, so Auburn needed a deep ball. Green Jr. barely missed — and the Tigers pleaded their case for a good couple minutes after the final buzzer.

Tigers’ massive field-goal drought

Against what’s currently one of the best defenses in the past three decades of college basketball, Auburn was desperate for baskets most of the first half.

Auburn got off to an 8-0 start, primarily due to its play under the basket on both ends. Broome started 3-for-3 from the floor, and held Vols big man Nkamhoua to an 0-for-5 clip out of the gates, including a block.

Tennessee wasn’t able to shoot its way out, either, starting 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. The Vols started 2-of-17 overall.

"Man, Johni did great," Pearl said. "Again, a better coach would've got him the ball better than me. I should've gotten him more touches. I should've gotten it to him more, deeper. But Tennessee is a great defensive team."

Then a slow, 17-5 run ensued for Tennessee, as Auburn went on to miss 18 of 19 shots for the rest of the first half. Its only make was a doozie, when Green Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the first ‘E’ of Tennessee’s midcourt logo. His deep triple was Auburn’s only make on 11 first-half attempts, though Green Jr. had at least a couple more quality looks that nearly went down.

The 3-pointer remained Auburn’s only bucket until Broome finally made one, breaking a string of five straight misses for the big man. And somehow, with Auburn making only one shot between the 15:43 mark of the first half, and the 15:39 mark of the second half, the Tigers never trailed by more than 5 points during that stretch.

Defense was obviously to thank, as the Vols weren’t getting many easy looks inside or out, thanks in large part to three blocks and four steals for Auburn in the first half.

Tennessee's brief run feels huge

It was more of the same in the second half, with Auburn starting 0-of-7 from the field until Broome’s make.

Then with continued defensive consistency, the Tigers tied it up at 28-28 with a 3-pointer by Allen Flanigan, just their second of the game.

When Flanigan, Green Jr. and Williams went to the bench, though, the Vols mounted an 8-0 run over that 3:18 that felt gargantuan — considering it took Auburn just under six minutes to get its first 8 points of the second half.

A couple minutes later, Tennessee had three straight trips down the floor where it could have pushed the lead to double digits with under seven minutes to play. The Tigers got a stop on all three, then finally broke through by scoring on three of their next four possessions: a floater by Flanigan, a drive to the hoop by Johnson, a pair of freebies from Johnson.

That gave the Tigers, despite a grind-it-out game all afternoon, a chance late against the No. 2 team in the country, down 40-36 at the final media timeout.

Every shot counts for Auburn

The Tigers knew scoring opportunities were going to be invaluable, and that was certainly the case against the best defense in college basketball.

Auburn logged season lows in overall shooting at 24 percent (13-of-55), 3-point shooting (3-of-27), assists (five), and tied its season low in scoring (43).

Only five players scored for Auburn: Broome (11 points and nine rebounds), Johnson (10 points and 6-of-8 free throws), Green Jr. (9 points on 2-of-10 shooting), Flanigan (9 points and eight boards) and Williams (4 points and nine rebounds).

The Vols were held to a season-low in scoring, too, on 27 percent shooting. Its 46 points are the fewest for Tennessee in a victory since 1984.

"Kids did an incredible job defensively," Pearl said. "Our guards, the way they guarded — Vescovi and (Zakai) Zeigler (0-of-10 from the floor). Doesn't matter. They did what I asked them to do. I can't compliment our kids enough for the way they locked in the scouting report. And Steven Pearl and his team did an incredible job."

Tennessee's 15 offensive boards loomed large, too, leading to 10 second-chance points — 21.7 percent of the scoring for what entered the game as the best overall rebounding team in the country.

"They’re big, strong, physical," Pearl said. "I thought our guys fought pretty valiantly, I think there were a couple of second-half offensive rebounds where maybe we came up out of our stance and didn’t finish the possession. Jaylin Williams with eight defensive (rebounds), Johni with six, Wendell with seven, Al with seven. Those are great numbers against the best offensive rebounding team in our league. So obviously, second-chance points were a factor."

Almost picked one off

Of Auburn's murderous trio of games at Tennessee, at Texas A&M and at home against Alabama, the matchup in Knoxville seemed the toughest. And the Tigers nearly pulled it off, losing by 3 points in a second straight Quadrant 1 road game.

"I think we're gonna look at it and say we got some pretty good looks," Pearl said. "We missed some open shots. But when you're playing against the No. 2 team in the country, you've gotta hit open shots."

Despite the loss, Auburn moved up four spots in KenPom's rankings to No. 22. It was by no means a blow to Auburn's NCAA tournament resume, but a win would have been a massive boost for the Tigers' prospective placement in March — and their overall comfort level in making the tournament, period.

While Tuesday's trip to College Station isn't against one of the very best teams in the country, it still serves as a chance for the Tigers to grab their second Quad 1 win of the season (home win vs. Arkansas).

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auburnwire.usatoday.com
 

Tigers of the Game: Broome, Green earn honors for effort in tough loss Tennessee

Taylor Jones
3–4 minutes

Saturday’s game between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 23 Auburn did not end with an aesthetically-pleasing box score.

The Volunteers went 17-of-63 from the field in the game while Auburn made just 13-of-55 of their shots in Tennessee’s 46-43 win over Auburn at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee’s leading scorer, Josiah Jordan James, succeeded on just 5-of-12 shots while Johni Broome, Auburn’s highest-scorer, went 5-of-13 from the field.

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In a game that made offensive-minded fans cringe and fans of a more defensive-style game grin menacingly,  all aspects of Saturday’s game were considered in selecting Auburn’s best performers.

Following the game, the staff at Auburn Wire, as well as Auburn fans on Twitter, cast their vote for the game’s most valuable player. Who stood out the most? Here’s a look at which player Auburn Wire writers Taylor JonesJ.D. McCarthy, and River Wells, as well as Auburn fans, chose as their Tiger of the Game following Auburn’s loss to Tennessee.

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Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Green may not have had the best game offensively, but his defensive efforts can not go unnoticed. Green recorded seven rebounds and posted four steals. He also had a hand in creating points by adding three assists to his total.

Offensively, he ended the game with nine points, which was second-most on the team behind Flanigan. He also nailed a three-pointer with 0:30 remaining to put Auburn in postion to win the game by cutting Tennessee’s lead down to 44-43.

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Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

It took some time, but Johni Broome led the team in scoring with 11 points in Saturday’s loss. It marks the ninth time this season that Broome has ended the game as Auburn’s scoring leader.

USATSI_19921280.jpg

The Knoxville News-Sentinel

In what has become the norm, Broome also led the team in boards. He was one rebound away from earning his eighth double-double of the season by securing nine in the loss to Tennesse. He has now been Auburn’s leading rebounder 15 times this season, and has led the team in rebounds in five-straight games.

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The Knoxville News-Sentinel

In a close vote, Johni Broome edged Wendell Green Jr. by winning 48% of the vote.

Cast your vote for your “Tiger of the Game” by visiting Auburn Wire on Twitter following every game.

USATSI_19903213.jpg

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Here is a look at how many Tigers have earned a “Tiger of the Game” vote this season:

Johni Broome 32
Wendell Green Jr. 17
Jaylin Williams 13
Allen Flanigan 5
K.D. Johnson 2
Chris Moore 2
Tre Donaldson 1
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ESPN’s College GameDay returning to Auburn for Alabama basketball game

Updated: Feb. 04, 2023, 5:56 p.m.|Published: Feb. 04, 2023, 11:34 a.m.
~3 minutes

Neville Arena fans

The Jungle during the Men's Basketball game between Texas A&M Aggies and the #15 Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2023. Zach Bland/Auburn TigersZach Bland/Auburn Tigers

ESPN’s College GameDay is returning to the Plains for the third time in the last four seasons.

The network’s flagship pregame show will broadcast live from Neville Arena next Saturday ahead of the highly anticipated rivalry showdown between Auburn and Alabama. The Tigers and Tide will square off at 1 p.m. at Neville Arena, with the game airing on ESPN.

Read more Auburn basketball: Auburn lands state’s top player in 2024 class, four-star combo guard Labaron Philon

Auburn freshman Chance Westry a “very, very real possibility” to redshirt this season

Auburn lands five-star 2024 point guard Tahaad Pettiford

“It’ll be a big game – that’s probably gonna get some national television attention,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Thursday. “So, we’ll see what happens on that date. But that’ll be exciting for Auburn in our community.”

Auburn joins Duke as the only program to host College GameDay in each of the last three seasons the show has aired -- 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23. The show did not air during the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic. Auburn is 2-0 in games when ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasts from the Tigers’ homecourt. The show was previously on the Plains for Auburn’s win against then-No. 13 Kentucky on Feb. 1, 2020, and then again last season for then-No. 1 Auburn’s victory against Texas A&M on Feb. 12, 2022.

The show’s visit to the Plains for the rivalry game will place Auburn in a tie for ninth all-time among schools to host College GameDay for basketball. Auburn will join UConn, Arizona, Memphis, Notre Dame and Baylor on that list.

The one-hour pregame show is hosted by Rece Davis and features analysts Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg. The show will air from 10-11 a.m. from Neville Arena, where gates will open at 9 a.m. A game ticket is required to enter the arena for College GameDay.

Auburn is currently ranked 25th in the AP poll, while Alabama is ranked fourth. The Tigers have won two straight against the Tide, and the teams have split their last six meeting overall since Nate Oats took over in Tuscaloosa.

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

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

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Predicting AU wins rematch! Caldwell will fill a very important role!

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