Auburn defeats South Florida

[TitanTiger 20,482]

Much improvement since the Seton Hall game, particularly on defense:

AUBURN – Frankie Sullivan and Chris Denson each scored 12 points as Auburn defeated South Florida 52-40 in Auburn Arena on Wednesday after an 11-day layoff to improve to 5-1 for its best start in seven years.

Varez Ward added 11 points and six rebounds while Kenny Gabriel had seven points, a team-best eight rebounds and three steals.

“When you are off for so many days, you lose that game sharpness,” head coach Tony Barbee said. “I liked the way we responded. We didn’t let our lack of offense in the first 10 minutes bury us. We still guarded and rebounded. You have to win what I call a ‘grind out’ game, and tonight was one of those. I am proud of the fact that the guys responded. They made free throws, made plays and made shots when we needed them.”

Auburn held USF (6-5) to 40 points – the fewest for an opponent since Alabama A&M scored 40 on December 29, 2008. The Tigers set season-high marks for free throws made by going 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.

Ward connected on Auburn’s first 3-pointer of the night with 1:36 to go in the opening half as the Tigers pulled within one. Sullivan’s layup was sandwiched by a pair of blocks by Willy Kouassi as Auburn took its first lead, 21-20 at the half. The Tigers did not trail again.

Auburn bridged a 13-2 run over the last minute of the first half through the break to take a 29-22 lead. The Tigers then opened their lead to 37-29 on a layup by Sullivan with 11:16 remaining. Sullivan’s first trey, followed by a floater from Denson, capped a 14-3 run and gave Auburn a 45-32 advantage with 6:47 to go.

“We held this team to a low scoring game,” Denson said. “All week we just focused on defense, and we just have to get better on the offensive end. That’s what our main focus is on right now. I think we have the defense down pat, but I think the layoff helped us a lot in that category.”

South Florida scored the first seven points of the game, but the Bulls then went more than eight minutes without a basket as Auburn closed to within 9-8. Augustus Gilchrist scored 10 of South Florida’s first 15 points as the Bulls held a 15-10 lead. Gilchrist, who was the lone Bull in double figures, didn’t score again after the 6:04 mark of the first half.

The Tigers are in action next on Saturday when they host North Florida at 7 pm Central at Auburn Arena.

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/Tigers-take-down-South-Florida-53093

[buzzurd24 11]

MAJOR upgrade in talent from last year to this year. Team needs to learn to gel some more on offense but the talent is there to have some success.

[AUtiger98 24]

The first half was hard to watch but pulling out a win was nice. Looks like we will get a few kids back from injury and suspension over the next two weeks which could be a positive for this team.

[WarAJEagle 5]

Watched online, Chubb made me cringe sometimes. Second half was much improved. Hopefully we get the next 2 wins and go to Hawaii feeling good!

[Clint 1]

Tough game to watch, but 'a win's a win.' Chubb has been so hit or miss (mostly miss) lately, its sickening to watch. He has got to step it up real soon. Two more Florida teams to play then we make the trip to Hawaii. Hopefully we can beat Hawaii to start it off and get some good experience with the teams over there.

[JB33 1]

Not a thing of beauty, by any stretch, but I'll take a win any way we can get it. (Ah, basketball season . . . ) I realize USF is a 'grind it out' sort of team, but any time you hold your opponent to 40 points, you're doing something right defensively.

Suspect Barbs seriously challenged the team's toughness during the layoff; must've been a (very) long 11 days. The results:

Seton Hall: Surrendered 81 points; rebound margin: - 22

USF: Surrendered 40 points; rebound margin: + 11

[jared52 4,354]

I watched the second half and have mixed reviews for this team based on a very small sampling of games watched. It's an ugly team. They lack the scrappy hustle of past AU teams and are still looking for a leader on the floor but they have improved in areas like rebounding and team play. They run their offense pretty well but lack a good finisher. Holding a team to 1 point a minute is pretty good at the college level and they have shown pretty good defensive skills this year. Having guys who can block and alter shots in the paint is big. If anything, AU just lacks experience. I think we will see a slow SEC start but once they get some of those bigger games under their belt, they will be competitive with the second tier SEC teams this year. The preseason schedule hasn't been very good but it will probably help this young team gain confidence which is about as good as experience in basketball.

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

If we get FSU's beloved DC to come to the Plains, I hope this team's ready when they step into the Tallahassee Civic Center.