SCTiger2011

Hey, Men's Golf just won a team and individual SEC Championship and is the number 1 team in the nation. If your opinion of Auburn sports mediocrity is truly rooted in wanting to see all sports succeed and not just frustration that the football team sucks, this should be a good morning for you. If your immediate reaction is "who cares, it's only golf," please refer to paragraph one to further instill the fact you're just upset football sucks and use those frustrations to bash the other sports programs as a collective. Also, updates for only fans of the Big 3 sports (this isn't necessarily a jab, there are so many athletics teams and we all have our preferences), our men's and women's tennis teams both enter their NCAA tournaments as Top 25 teams. Men 24th. Women 17th. Happy Sunday!

Somewhat, but not the entire point. The point I'm trying to make is if sports at Auburn are a weighted average of how people feel about the athletic program, then football makes up 95% of the sentiment. If Auburn football is consistently top 10, the other sports don't get near the level of scrutiny they are now. And flip side, they don't get half the credit they deserve when football is doing well. But, when football is bad, people start micro-analyzing and diminishing the accomplishments of the other programs and letting the football sentiment bleed over into a blanket statement of "Auburn athletics is happy with mediocrity." Case in point: baseball catching strays when if someone with any knowledge of the sport/program realizes 2 CWS appearances in 5 years is a borderline elite program since 2019.

I get the point of posts like this, and they're gaining traction with Jake Crain's comments a few weeks ago as well as our frustration at watching Alabama basketball make a Final 4. I'm on the fence, because I think the argument is not a good faith one for many using it, as it basically states "anything that's not a national championship is a failure, and anyone who accepts good seasons over once in a lifetime seasons is comfortable with mediocrity" I'm the biggest Auburn baseball fan in the world, and this season is frustrating. But to dismiss 2 CWS appearances in 5 years from a program that had been on life support for over a decade as settling for mediocrity isn't being genuine. The same goes with the basketball program. Results in 2021-2024 make us angry whereas hearing these results from 2004-2018 would have us the happiest basketball fanbase ever. Bruce (who is not without criticism) is a product of his own success. Others have mentioned the improvements back to top 15 programs for S&D, and golf is a regular top 5 program these day. Volleyball is building a great base with two postseason trips in a row. Again, I realize the easiest counterargument here is "at some point, a national title must happen in one of these or none of it matters." I want Auburn to win National Championships as much as anyone, but the truth is, only one school gets one in each sport. The odds are overwhelmingly against even the top tier programs every year. Those seasons should be desired and cherished, but this growing "National Title or bust" mentality that's growing is a lazy one in my opinion and can be summed up very simply: "Auburn football is bad and it's making me restless." Guarantee if Auburn football makes the playoff in 2024 (not even a natty), most of the fire and torches brigade will be happy and not go back to micro-analyzing every sport.

Ultimately, they'll reign the regulation in on NIL a bit, but I feel the damage will already be done; parity is gone at the college athletics level unless they make every school's NIL budget the same (they won't/can't). Anecdotally, I've found myself more disillusioned with Auburn athletics since COVID, and I can't put my finger on if it's NIL, the fact that I entered my 30s and attention turned to "real life" matters, or a mixture. Even more exhausting are Auburn-affiliated people with microphones chastising the fanbase for "accepting" same ole Auburn performances on the athletic field. Like give it a rest people, my yelling half-inebriated at a TV screen isn't going to change the outcome of an Auburn sporting event or who's coaching the teams whether I accept the result or get mad at it. I never spend anyone else's money, but as much as Auburn sports used to mean to me, I still can't see the point in asking the average fan to chip in discretionary income to hopefully land an 18 year old who will bolt for the next highest offer the next year. It just seems like the money aspect in college sports has cranked up the fanaticism as well, and not In a good way.

Five fouls to zero lol

Behind 8-3 late in game 2 so it definitely did not get better. These opening 4 series are just brutal. I know the boys rebounded from a slow start/tough schedule last year, but I just get the feeling this could be a rebuilding year. Would love Power and the more baseball-informed on the board to talk me off the mini-ledge though; after all, it is a road series against number 9. Take one on the road series, two on the home series is always a good SEC outcome.

Love having Broome open the half twice from deep; should spread the MSU defense out a bit

I like how Denver's played today. Would be nice if this sparks a late-season run from him

Basketball is such a crap shoot, over 300 D-1 teams compared to NCAAF where the power 5 dynamic features about 60 teams whereby only 20-30 can truly win a championship. I disagree with you on the "slipping away from a potential championship." I think it's obvious this team's ceiling probably isn't championship, but Auburn basketball is becoming a perennial top 4 SEC team; you have to have that reputation to keep the recruiting cycles going to hope to catch lightning in a bottle. One great point guard or two good shooters away from making another 2019 run in either 2025-2026. I still think this team ends up in the Sweet 16 though.

Hope Jaylin's ok but that didn't look good at all. With the road ahead though, a 13-5 final conference record is likely. Win one or two in the SEC tourney and that 4-seed line should be solid. Otherwise, a 5 seed with the right 4-seed opponent in the round of 32.

Not smart basketball IQ in the second half after pulling within 5...

Pattern this year of running sets off ball screens to claw back into games, and then taking ill-advised threes 10 seconds into the shot clock to try and land a hype moment just when they're in striking distance. One more run should give us the lead...lets go

Broome should never shoot a 3 unless Auburn has the lead.

Hope to be proven wrong, but I've gone out of "The young point guard is in a slump" into "Yikes, this looks like a complete bust of a signing" territory

I took the under at least. I can move the profits over to the Super Bowl National Anthem over.

Curses usually at least have cool stories. Can we trace the curse at the O-Dome back to anything cool? Did Wes Byrum's Gator chomp anger the basketball gods lol?

SEC Road teams are 26-37 on the road in conference. Auburn is 3-3. I get it's frustrating to acknowledge it as anything but an excuse, especially when AU is getting boat-raced, but it is what it is. It's not like we're watching a highly-touted team fail to meet lofty offseason expectations. We appear to be what many thought we were, an upper middle place team in the conference. "Sky is falling" if you will, but just hope the guards get lukewarm in March, get a good matchup in the NCAA tourney as a 6-seed to make a Sweet-16 and keep momentum with the program.

Admittedly, I havent kept up with the program, but know they've spent a good amount of time in the top 20 the last couple of years. This release from the AD reads to me like something unpleasant happened...any insights? @AUGoldMine From Auburn Athletics... Auburn Athletics has made a change in leadership within the women’s tennis program. Effective immediately, Caroline Lilley will no longer lead the women’s tennis program. “The program will be under the direction of members of the men’s and women’s tennis staff on an interim basis, as the search for a permanent replacement begins. We will work closely with members of our tennis staff to ensure they have all the resources necessary to support our student athletes throughout the remainder of the 2024 season” said Director of Athletics John Cohen on Sunday.

Looking forward to February 16! Just noticed our Conference Schedule though... at Vanderbilt, Arkansas, at TAMU, UTenn, UK, at MSU, at LSU, Ole Miss, at Mizzou, Alabama Another strong competition year in the conference!

^^^ Then I think you and I are debating here over an invisible beef. I might've unfairly looped you in others who are beginning to grumble about "needing a change" at the top. Regardless, just as incessant sunshine pumping is nauseating, Chicken Little-ing a bad basketball week in January is equally so. It doesn't mean we can't whine and moan and criticize (we are Auburn fans after all), but the switch-ups from "WHY WONT THEY RANK US AND GIVE US RESPECT" to "We dont deserve a D-1 basketball program" (hyperbole) always prove entertaining by the time all the Ws and Ls are counted. Vandy midweek should be a fun blood-letting hopefully

If you look through this thread and others, you'll see I have plenty of criticism for Bruce. I'm simply saying the level of criticism, mistakes, and performance doesn't warrant a change at the head coaching position. Are you saying 3 SEC Championships and a Final 4 in 10 years (I'll give you the full ten even though we know years 1-3 were a complete rebuild) is unacceptable for Auburn basketball? Because if we're going to get in a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST mentality with basketball coaches, I feel you'll be even more depressed than the football performance post-Malzahn.

It's a good question, but in my opinion the answer would be "it depends." Every coach has a different focus area of the game; Bruce's has always been transition offenses that play aggressive, and you take the good and the bad with that style just as other styles have their pros and cons. As intense as he is, I'm surprised in recent years, there seems to be fragility in the mental game. Auburn teams have been great front-runners, but lack the ability to lock in in close, intense games to get the W (I don't have the stats on this so it might just be wrong and anecdotal from my own eyes). Aden and J-Will just look completely lost lately.

Bad effort, bad coaching, bad road trip.

Yes because Gus taking over a program that had won the NC 2 years prior and a historical top 25 program is completely comparable to Bruce taking a dead fish program to a perennial NCAA tournament team...he has his coaching faults but Geezus use a brain cell or two that doesn't involve hyperbole.

Ok, it's sad but Jaylin in full meltdown mode now. Just lets the missed free throw drop behind him.