QA with Butch Thompson

[aubiefifty 16,822]

247sports.com

QA with Butch Thompson heading into 2024 season

Jason Caldwell

7–9 minutes

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Auburn's first loss in nearly two months came in dramatic fashion on the road.

The Tigers fought their way back from a double-digit deficit and made for a back-and-forth game down the stretch, but couldn't make enough plays — and free throws — at the end, as No. 8 Auburn's 11-game winning streak came to an end in Tuscaloosa with a 79-75 loss to Alabama on Wednesday night.

Here are Auburn Undercover's five takeaways from Auburn's first SEC loss of the season.

NOT ENOUGH AT THE END

As has been customary for these teams in recent seasons, Wednesday's rivalry matchup came down to the final minute.

Alabama led by 3, 71-68 with just over two minutes remaining. Jaylin Williams, who had struggled a bit offensively at the start of the game, hit a quick hook shot. Auburn played strong defense on the other end of the floor against Rylan Griffen, who missed a contested 3-pointer, but Alabama pulled down its 15th offensive rebound, and Grant Nelson made two free throws.

Johni Broome (25 points) had easily been Auburn's best player all night, but he missed a shot at the rim which could have cut the lead back to 1. And Alabama's 16th offensive rebound was also a killer, as Nelson skied overtop of the defense for a putback dunk to put Alabama up by 5.

Still, the Tigers didn't go away, as K.D. Johnson hit two free throws, and Auburn got a stop with under 30 seconds left. Then Chad Baker-Mazara was fouled on a 3-point shot.

But Baker-Mazara, an 88.7 percent foul shooter this season, couldn't tie things up at the line, though, making only 2-of-3. Making 5-of-7 free throws, Baker-Mazara missed multiple foul shots in a game for the first time all season.

"They’re a good team," Bruce Pearl said. "We missed some shots tonight that you need to make to win against a really good team on the road."

Including a couple by Nelson, Alabama had four offensive rebounds in the last 5:22 of the game.

"They got 16 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points," Pearl said. "I thought that and the 3-ball were the differences in the game as far as them getting 79 points."

AUBURN WEATHERS BAMA’S 3-POINT SHOOTING

Things looked like they could have gotten away from the Tigers based on Alabama's early shooting, but Auburn weathered the storm and gave itself a chance at the end.

Auburn had a couple more turnovers and went cold from the floor — and Alabama took full advantage going into halftime. The Crimson Tide made 6-of-8 shots, Auburn went 1-for-9, and it ended up a 13-4 run for Alabama to take its largest lead of the game into halftime, up by 14. 

Alabama shot a crisp 8-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half, four of which came from Griffen. 

Auburn was able to offset some of the damage with a quick 9-0 burst right out of the locker room, thanks in part to 5 quick points by Denver Jones, and an 0-for-10 start to the half by the Crimson Tide.

"Really proud of my guys for bouncing back in the second half," Pearl said. "The locker room was really positive at halftime. Guys were really encouraging each other."

The Tigers continued to make seven of their first 12 shots out of halftime to cut the lead down to as close as 3.

After Tre Donaldson and Mark Sears (22 points and eight assists) exchanged 3-pointers, things settled a bit at the under-12 timeout, as Alabama led 57-51.

A big key in Auburn cutting down the deficit was also cutting down on turnovers, with just one through the first nine minutes of the second half. Auburn also held Alabama to just 4-of-20 shooting out of halftime, including misses of six of the Crimson Tide's first seven 3-pointers.

"I thought we just got really good leadership," Pearl said of Auburn's response out of halftime. "We got good chemistry, we've got great kids. We got some stops, and we had some shots. We came here to win a game. You could tell."

And after a couple made 3-pointers by Donaldson, he ripped the ball from Aaron Estrada, raced down the floor so fast the mop crew had to sprint from under the basket, and gave Auburn a 58-57 lead with 11 minutes left on a breakaway dunk.

EARLY TURNOVER TROUBLES ON THE ROAD

One constant for Auburn through its success this season has been the Tigers’ ability to take care of the basketball. They’ve been efficient on both ends of the floor, of course, but have also limited extra possessions for opponents.

Relative to its usual numbers, Auburn struggled a bit with 14 turnovers over the weekend against Ole Miss, and those issues were magnified in a hostile environment in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama had 12 early points off Auburn turnovers, taking advantage of five giveaways by the Tigers less than seven minutes into the game. Auburn had two more turnovers down the stretch of the first half that helped Alabama close the half with a 14-point lead.

The Tigers returned to running their tight ship down the stretch, though, with only two turnovers in the second half. As a result, Alabama's points off turnovers careened from a whopping 16 in the first half to only 2 after halftime.

“I thought their ball pressure really bothered our guys," Pearl said of the turnover issues in the first half. "Point guard is the only position we’re young. They disrupted us. I’m sure we’ll see that. ... Did a better job with the offense in front of us taking care of the ball and getting organized in what we were trying to run."

BROOME A FORCE ON THE INSIDE

Perhaps it should have been obvious from the first possession that Johni Broome was going to have a good night.

The big man made a 3-pointer with half Coleman Coliseum's lights out — which caused a 16-minute delay — for Auburn’s first points, and he certainly didn’t slow down once the floor was properly lit. 

For the majority of the first half, Broome was Auburn’s only consistent offense, accounting for more than half (16) of the Tigers’ 30 points at the break.

Broome, whom Alabama coach Nate Oats called a "monster" postgame, continued to punish the Crimson Tide on both ends of the floor, and he notched a double-double with six minutes left in the game. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

“Johni Broome had a real advantage on the inside tonight — we took advantage of it," Pearl said. "But he was terrific. Played like a first-team all conference player, and he did it at both ends. He scored. He blocked shots. He switched out defensively."

Broome fouled out late — in his second straight trip to Coleman Coliseum — despite having zero fouls in the first half.

PEARL ENCOURAGED BY CLOSE LOSS

With Auburn's schedule moving into a tougher stretch following a 5-0 start, thus begins higher-intensity atmospheres, pressure and opponents on the road. The Tigers were an underdog to the Crimson Tide on Wednesday for only the second time all season.

And Pearl was encouraged by what he saw from his team, especially after trailing by 14 at halftime after being blitzed by 3-pointers early.

"This may not be the outcome we wanted, but this is an outcome that tells me something," Pearl said. "You gotta be pretty good to come in here and not get run out in this environment against us."

*** Subscribe to Auburn Undercover for the latest news and intel, podcasts, recruiting coverage and more ***

*** Get Auburn news straight to your inbox with the Auburn Undercover newsletter ***