Auburn vs. Alabama - Game Thread

[AUDub 11,160]

Is that the way the SEC wants games officiated?

Refs were awful. We caught a lot of breaks tonight.

[milehighfan 1,240]

The announcers calling the game keep harping on the amount of fouls being called, saying that is the way they were told to call it. But when you have three or four players foul out, they seem to be carrying it to extremes. Glad the Tigers were able to pull it out and even their SEC record.

[mdp5150 167]

I'm only counting games since UK and we are now 2-0! WDE

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Bowers had his best game in two years. When he's on he's a fun player to watch.

[OnthePlains 2,014]

I was overly pessimistic about this game. Figured our guys would have a big win hangover. Nice win and impressive to come back on a short break after UK. WDE

[CameronCrazy 1,074]

HUGE WIN!! Great to see these guys come out strong and not experience a letdown. If we can convince Canty to come back for another year, this team is going to be legit next year with the addition of Purifoy & Heron.

Did I miss the ruling on Purifoy and he's been red shirted?

Still no decision. If he can get qualified for the last 2 months of the season then great. But I'm not counting on him for the rest of the year.

[jared52 4,354]

Is that the way the SEC wants games officiated? :puke1:/>

Refs were awful. We caught a lot of breaks tonight.

The only officiating "break" AU got was the corrected call at half court. They called the game the same both ways. And by same, I mean crappy.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

HUGE WIN!! Great to see these guys come out strong and not experience a letdown. If we can convince Canty to come back for another year, this team is going to be legit next year with the addition of Purifoy & Heron.

Did I miss the ruling on Purifoy and he's been red shirted?

Still no decision. If he can get qualified for the last 2 months of the season then great. But I'm not counting on him for the rest of the year.

Would that be advantageous or should we preserve his eligibility until next season, should that be the case? Admittedly, I don't know squat about basketball when it comes to things that could also be applied to football.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

officiating was not bad officiating, but it was frustrating for me and it had to be even worse for the players from both teams....they called everything, even incidental stuff......loved it though, because its been a long time since AU beat kentucky and alabama in the same year, much less back to back.....pearl and johnson are going to make basketball fun again in the state

[Piketiger1990 173]

Props to Bowers for the energy tonight. I feel like Bruce is finally getting him to play to his strengths and don't try to do too much. I saw Bowers stop on numerous defensive rebounds and immediately find Canty instead of pushing it ahead and making a bad pass or out of control shot. We can have so many more meaningful possessions that way.

[RunInRed 16,454]

Cinmeon Bowers 20 points, 18 rebounds. Kareem Canty scores 25.

[RunInRed 16,454]

'Great environment for college basketball,' says Bruce Pearl after Auburn beats Alabama 83-77 in front of 9,121 fans in Auburn Arena

...

Cinmeon Bowers scores 20, grabs 18 rebounds. "He has been really locked in, he's been really focused," says Auburn's Bruce Pearl after win

...

Bruce Pearl on beating Alabama. "It's important. It's a rivalry game. It matters to Auburn family that we're competitive in this rivalry"

@AUGoldMine

[RunInRed 16,454]

[AUBwins 10,075]

It is always good to beat the turds

[Tiger 8,830]

That was a great game. Lots of good Cim and verrrry limited bad Cim tonight and that was huge. Definitely the best game he's played at AU. Man, Canty hits some ridiculous shots. I like how poised we played down the stretch not letting Bama get over the hump. If we could figure out how to limit Horace Spencer's foul trouble that'd be great lol

Great win for us with Brown having such an off game. We usually have to rely on him a bit more with Dunans out.

[WarTiger 3,914]

Is that the way the SEC wants games officiated?

They let the guys play on Saturday in the Kentucky game and called everything tonight. The players don't know what the officials are going to call. There is no consistency from crew to crew or game to game.

I think this is by and large the problem most have with officiating. It's not the officials job to keep the foul count even but it is their job to be consistent. Now, they were consistent tonight, IMO but they were consistent in the wrong way. There were several fouls called on both teams where the contact was extremely minimal. Neither team gained an advantage because of the foul. I get cleaning up post play and such, but what advantage is gained when you call a foul underneath the basket away from the ball with the ball up near the division line? It's extremely difficult to call a basketball game. But in some games how its called is taking away from the game and it took away from the game vs. uat. In the kentucky game there was flow, while last night you couldn't hardly get to the other end of the floor without a foul being called somewhere. It was overcompensation, IMO.

Last nights game had 53 fouls (24 for Auburn, 29 for uat) called and teams combined to shoot 68 free throws, Auburn was 28-40 and uat was 19-28. That's just extreme to me.

[Tiger 8,830]

It was annoying but I'm happy we ended up on the plus side of the FT attempts for once.

[AU64 10,122]

Apparently the refs have been told to crack down on contact....even contact that does not affect the flow of the game or give a player an advantage...I see these foul shooting exhibitions all over the place...not just the SEC. I understand the intent was to open the game up and generate more scoring....but the result at this point, is to slow the games and for us fans to get a steady dose of foul shooting.

IMO, It's not the nature of young basketball players to play defense without at least maintaining "contact" with the offensive players. Maybe the players will adjust to the way the game is being called.....but not yet.

And BTW, seems like this was Bower's best game of the year....really went after RBs which really helped his team. Hoping he keeps this up the rest of the way.

[mustache eagle 2,412]

Read an article on Lang and heard him on post game interview ... They were making a deal out of his teammates helping him win ...

I guess I have actually "looked" at the roster ... Lang is the only active scholarship player on the team from Alabama!

Glad CBP is changing that.

Btw ... How bout bowers snagging 18 boards ... That is what he can do when he truly goes for it.

[augolf1716 21,248]

That was a good win against a team that came into the game with a 41 RPI ranking. AU is currently at 70

[alexava 6,973]

Read an article on Lang and heard him on post game interview ... They were making a deal out of his teammates helping him win ...

I guess I have actually "looked" at the roster ... Lang is the only active scholarship player on the team from Alabama!

Glad CBP is changing that.

Btw ... How bout bowers snagging 18 boards ... That is what he can do when he truly goes for it.

this is the most basketball I have watched this season. Bowers obviously lost weight but looks stronger and certainly quicker. As good as he is, it looks like he could be even better. No threes though. If Bruce can get them believing they are supposed to win I will enjoy the rest of the season. I admit I am a fair weather hoops fan.

[AU64 10,122]

That was a good win against a team that came into the game with a 41 RPI ranking. AU is currently at 70

I know you don't RPI credit for losses but I noticed the other day that Xavier was ranked 4th or 5th in the polls. A tough way for a young AU team to start the season. Interesting national polls this year....some newer names in the top 15 ....no truly dominant team anywhere.

[augolf1716 21,248]

That was a good win against a team that came into the game with a 41 RPI ranking. AU is currently at 70

I know you don't RPI credit for losses but I noticed the other day that Xavier was ranked 4th or 5th in the polls. A tough way for a young AU team to start the season. Interesting national polls this year....some newer names in the top 15 ....no truly dominant team anywhere.

The lost last night by bama killed them in RPI.

[RunInRed 16,454]

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

That was a good win against a team that came into the game with a 41 RPI ranking. AU is currently at 70

I know you don't RPI credit for losses but I noticed the other day that Xavier was ranked 4th or 5th in the polls. A tough way for a young AU team to start the season. Interesting national polls this year....some newer names in the top 15 ....no truly dominant team anywhere.

The lost last night by bama killed them in RPI.

That loss to Missouri last week is killing us.