Men vs. Baylor Thoughts, Predictions, & What You Want To See

[KansasTiger 3,254]

I know, Auburn is a football school. But we've seen unprecedented success on our basketball court the last 4-5 years, and we're looking at what could be another great year. We're living on what many might say is the hey-dey of Auburn Basketball. And we don't even have a topic on this board talking about the season opening game against a top 20 opponent (not counting @aubiefifty and his valued article threads). Meanwhile in the football board, I have to endure 4 threads about VANDY.

So do we know enough about Baylor or our team to predict what's going to happen? The fact they even have preseason rankings in this day and age of transfers in college basketball kind of blows my mind in itself. So maybe the better question is, what is it that you want to see out of Auburn in this game? What do you have questions about that you're curious to see answered? How good or bad is our defense going to be with a shift to an offensive roster/mindset? Are there any shooting concerns with the poor % shown in the last scrimmage, or was that just a bad night?

Edited November 6, 2023 by KansasTiger

[TigerPAC 976]

i don't know what to expect to see honestly....like you mentioned, its (almost) whole new team out there.  would love to WIN, but like to see ball movement/security/shot selection on O and great rebounding on D.

[KansasTiger 3,254]

3 minutes ago, TigerPAC said:

i don't know what to expect to see honestly....like you mentioned, its (almost) whole new team out there.  would love to WIN, but like to see ball movement/security/shot selection on O and great rebounding on D.

I miss the chemistry and ball movement the 2018-2019 team showed. I went back and watched our tourney games on our way to that final four, and I know that was a special team, but the ball movement, finding the open man, extra pass, combined with our great chemistry and shooting % as a team, was just lethal. Compare that to what we had seen the last two years, and it's night and day. I always made the argument that BP didn't have the right personnel to run the system that he likes to run.

I don't expect this team to magically be that yet, but I hope to see some glimpses that this team can turn into that fun run n' gun style team again. I think they have the right people to do that.

[TigerPAC 976]

^^^what he said

TEAM concept gets lost on the basketball court, faster than any other "team" sport.  i do not like to see 5 guys out there essentially playing pick-up ball.

 

[gravejd 3,271]

I'm in the boat of don't really know what to expect from Auburn so hard to have much of a convo on the team at this point. I'm really excited to see the team play tomorrow against Baylor. Nice marquee matchup to start the season and give Auburn some publicity. I am hoping we show up and play well. I am nervous that we are running out such young PGs....this would have been a nice season to get some warm up games in there. But we have very few of those this year period much less to start the season. Pretty grueling OOC schedule for a team with so many new pieces. But most teams around the country are in the same boat as we are so we'll see which teams come together the fastest. I THINK if the PG play stacks up against our opponents then we have the chance for a pretty great season. 

Im most exciting about potentially have a team that can shoot again. Loved the stingy D the team has played the last 2 season but really miss that final 4 team you mentioned and how they could go off on huge runs with no notice. Running Kansas out of the gym has to go down as the funnest AU basketball game i've ever watched. Beating Kentucky without Chuma is the most 'special' AU win but that Kansas win was the most fun. 

Would also love to see a focus on getting the ball down low even if the 3s are falling. Broome and Jaylin are both really good under the basket. If we can keep the ball from sticking and move it inside and then back out again our guards should be able to get some wide  open shots. Getting the ball downlow hasn't been a strength of this team since Pearl has been here (outside of Kessler lobs) but I think this might be the first season where our front court has the scoring potential to match our back court. 

[KansasTiger 3,254]

31 minutes ago, gravejd said:

I'm in the boat of don't really know what to expect from Auburn so hard to have much of a convo on the team at this point. I'm really excited to see the team play tomorrow against Baylor. Nice marquee matchup to start the season and give Auburn some publicity. I am hoping we show up and play well. I am nervous that we are running out such young PGs....this would have been a nice season to get some warm up games in there. But we have very few of those this year period much less to start the season. Pretty grueling OOC schedule for a team with so many new pieces. But most teams around the country are in the same boat as we are so we'll see which teams come together the fastest. I THINK if the PG play stacks up against our opponents then we have the chance for a pretty great season. 

Im most exciting about potentially have a team that can shoot again. Loved the stingy D the team has played the last 2 season but really miss that final 4 team you mentioned and how they could go off on huge runs with no notice. Running Kansas out of the gym has to go down as the funnest AU basketball game i've ever watched. Beating Kentucky without Chuma is the most 'special' AU win but that Kansas win was the most fun. 

Would also love to see a focus on getting the ball down low even if the 3s are falling. Broome and Jaylin are both really good under the basket. If we can keep the ball from sticking and move it inside and then back out again our guards should be able to get some wide  open shots. Getting the ball downlow hasn't been a strength of this team since Pearl has been here (outside of Kessler lobs) but I think this might be the first season where our front court has the scoring potential to match our back court. 

So I watched that game with a bunch of my cocky KU friends, and no kidding my favorite line of the night came after what I think was either a Bryce Brown or Dunbar 3 late in the first half, "I didn't realize we were playing the Golden State Warriors, Christ..."

That game will always be one of my favorite memories.

Edited November 6, 2023 by KansasTiger

[arktiger1975 537]

Hard one to predict. We actually have a tough first game, not the easy tuneup games 

[jAUSon 2,836]

Came in to say hey.

[KansasTiger 3,254]

1 hour ago, jAUSon said:

Came in to say hey.

Bout time to change that avatar

[jAUSon 2,836]

3 minutes ago, KansasTiger said:

Bout time to change that avatar

You're right. Wendell's is closed lol

Edited November 6, 2023 by jAUSon

[HAPvsOA 313]

Baylor 53

Au 52

Expecting a close and tough loss, but one that our team learns a lot from and ends up being the start of a better than expected season. 

Really excited to se Holloway and some of our transfers, but not sure what to expect as they continue to learn how to play together. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by HAPvsOA

[tigeraddikt 1,619]

76-71 Baylor, think we’ll show flashes, but some sloppy stretches due to a lack of cohesiveness against a quality opponent on the road will lead to an L. Hope I’m wrong.

[AURex 2,031]

This is a rebuild for Baylor and for Auburn. Baylor lost a lot of firepower from last year. Auburn lost a lot of defensive strength from last year.

From the UAM warmup, Auburn is still terrible shooting from outside. And now we are breaking in a new crop of players defensively. Baylor is trying to figure out their team as well.

Whoever wins, it's not like this is going to affect standings or rankings or NCAA tournament bids. But I woukd sure like to see the Auburn newbies go ballistic!

WDE!

 

[TexasTiger 13,012]

I dreamt Auburn won 182-111. Really got to do better on defense. 😉

[bigbird 60,580]

9 hours ago, AURex said:

This is a rebuild for Baylor and for Auburn

That would be news to the AUs half.  They think they upgraded and reloaded. 

[AUApostle 7,658]

9 hours ago, AURex said:

This is a rebuild for Baylor and for Auburn. Baylor lost a lot of firepower from last year. Auburn lost a lot of defensive strength from last year.

From the UAM warmup, Auburn is still terrible shooting from outside. And now we are breaking in a new crop of players defensively. Baylor is trying to figure out their team as well.

Whoever wins, it's not like this is going to affect standings or rankings or NCAA tournament bids. But I woukd sure like to see the Auburn newbies go ballistic!

WDE!

 

I don’t think the staff is treating this as a rebuild season…I think it’s the new normal for a Bruce Pearl team if all goes well.  You could call it a rebuilding first half of the year, because, your right, it’s going to take some time to gel defensively and figure out offensive identity.

[bigbird 60,580]

We're going to look a lot different than previous editions. 

[AUnMS 120]

AU 87

BU 76

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Most curious to see what we look like on defense. I think we know what a CBP offense will generally look like. I expect the scoring to be better with a 2 guard who is willing to shoot the ball. 

[icanthearyou 4,463]

I would like to see our coaches do a better job with match ups.  The past two seasons, we haven't been willing to make changes when things weren't working.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,733]

To be fair, the board doesn’t have much conversation about Auburn basketball during Auburn’s basketball seasons, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t happen much in the preseason. I don’t think there’s a ton of interest from many SEC fans about basketball outside of SEC basketball. 

Discussion usually ramps up a bit after the football season ends too 

[KansasTiger 3,254]

7 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

To be fair, the board doesn’t have much conversation about Auburn basketball during Auburn’s basketball seasons, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t happen much in the preseason. I don’t think there’s a ton of interest from many SEC fans about basketball outside of SEC basketball. 

Discussion usually ramps up a bit after the football season ends too 

Yeah I've noticed it, too. I wish more Auburn fans got excited about basketball like we do football, but I get it. So I'll do my part in trying to gen up some discussions when I can 😆

[KillenTime 127]

We are a basketball school!  Can't be a football school when you can't field a team that loses 3 games or less in a season.  We were a football school, but Gus took that from us.  May be one sometime in the future but not now.

 

I love this team.  I definitely don't think this is a rebuild at all.  

We have veteran returners in Broome, Williams, KD, Cardwell and even Moore.  The new comers are mostly experienced players (Chaney, Denver and Chad). 

We should have a matchup advantage on the inside with Broome and an experienced 4 in Williams should offset their talented youth at the 4.  The 4 matchup should be interesting and fun to watch.   Hoping Williams maturity and added size pays dividends.  Love to see him be aggressive and play with a chip on his shoulder.   His defense will be important tonight.  He understands the expectation.  

They may have a slight advantage at guard, but KD plays physical and Tre is a physical PG.  I expect Tre to be much improved after dedicating an offseason to basketball only.  I expect these two to play well on defense.  Aden is talented but unknown.  I expect him to be very very good, but I don't know when.  Tonight?  Maybe.  I expect his role to steadily increase if not tonight.  He will be key in March. 

Of course the unknowns will be exciting to see in action.  How does Denver and Chaney play at a higher level.  I would think better than most true freshman would.  Excited to have some length at the 2.  And he can shoot it - make no mistake about that. Chaney is explosive and should be a treat to watch in transition.    Can he play with his back to the goal.  Does he have a drop step move?  Can he consistently stretch the defense from the 4.  

The key could very well be the 3.  Can Chad Baker bring it at the 3.  If he can stretch the court and knock down some 3's this team will make a lot of noise.  I expect him to do just that.  I think he will fine on the defensive end.  He may struggle against heavy and physical 3s, but how many of those will we face.  

Don't underestimate the value Cardwell brings to the team.  He brings physicality, energy and extra fouls in the post.  He defends, block shots and most importantly boxes out.  He will be overlooked by many and criticized by the uneducated fans, but he will be a critical piece of the puzzle and play a very important role this season.  

Let's get it started.  WDE!

 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,733]

The two best things I saw watching the exhibition was the commitment to getting the tempo closer to the better years, plus the pure ground that they cover. The two new forwards are very long. Tre shows those safety instincts somewhat often (could improve) when playing passing lanes. KD has obv become a master at playing up on the ball. I can see why they had defensive struggles watching the same exhibition, but if they can get that play up on the ball, rotate over onto the next pass well, do a better job of tagging their man, they’re going to force a ton of TOs. REALLY going to need Broome to run that scheme, as it’s so dependent on having an at least good rim protector (they had a generational one in Kessler for reference)

[KansasTiger 3,254]

Someone else might tag him since there's a decent chance he blocked me, but here's to hoping @Maverick.AU does a game thread tonight. We may have had our disagreements last year, but I respect you and love your enthusiasm and optimism.