aubiefifty

UM that was tongue in cheek hank. and i assume you mean doubled? and am i safe to assume you are taking a shot at mikey?

omg the tinkling and moaning would be world class if we fell that far and folks know it whether they admit it or not. fans would be on lane like a rat on a cheeto and some of us would have to double our depression meds. am i right mikey? lol

bird knows what he is talking about. he knows a lot more than most on what is happening than most of us and i have never seen him throw any garbage out there. in fact if he shares something he is not sure about he will say that as well. he is privy to a lot of insider stuff just like red and the others. i am not sure you guys are being fair to bird.

Trump's income taxes were often paltry, newly released documents show J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Former President Donald Trump repeatedly paid little or nothing in federal income taxes between 2015 and 2020 despite reporting millions in earnings. Documents released Tuesday night by House Democrats said Trump frequently made tens of millions of dollars annually during that period. But he was able to whittle away his tax bill by claiming steep business losses that offset that income. In 2016, he paid $750. The following year he again paid just $750. In 2020, he paid nothing. And though the IRS has a longstanding policy of automatically auditing every president, Democrats say the agency did not begin vetting Trump’s filings until they began asking about them in 2019. Trump frequently claimed he was under continuous audits by the IRS to justify his refusal to voluntarily disclose his taxes, which snapped a longstanding tradition of presidents and White House contenders volunteering their returns. The revelations, which came after House Democrats voted Tuesday to make Trump’s returns public, marks the culmination of the long-running mystery of what’s in his filings, something he’s fought for years in court to conceal. It promises to create yet another controversy for the scandal-plagued Trump, one that is sure to shadow his bid to return to the White House and raise uncomfortable questions for his fellow Republicans. It also puts a spotlight on the IRS as well, including its recently departed commissioner, Chuck Rettig, and its promise to impartially administer the tax code. At the same time, it is a last-minute victory for Democrats, particularly Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, who waged a three-and-a-half year court battle for the returns but whose enthusiasm for the fight was often questioned by his party’s liberal wing. Neal obtained the returns just last month, after the Supreme Court declined to block their release to him, and Democrats raced to get the information out before they slip into the minority in the House on Jan. 3. Democrats said it would take some time to scrub the filings of Trump’s personal information, such as his Social Security number and addresses, but that the returns would be released in the coming days. But Democrats asked the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan office of tax lawyers and economists that advises lawmakers on tax issues, to examine Trump’s filings and lawmakers released the agency’s findings along with their own report on the IRS audit system. Though Trump has cultivated an image of a wildly successful businessman, and bragged about paying little in taxes, he appears to do that mostly by reporting big losses. In 2015, JCT said, Trump reported making more than $50 million, through a combination of capital gains, interest, dividends and other earnings. That was offset though by more than $85 million in reported losses. He was hit by the alternative minimum tax that year, a levy designed to make it harder for the rich to zero out their tax bills. It generated a $641,931 tax bill. The following year he reported making $30 million but also claimed $60 million in losses. He was dinged again by the AMT that year, though he still ended up owing just $750. In other years, Trump paid more. In 2018, he had far fewer losses to report and ended up paying $999,466. JCT did not itself audit Trump’s returns and did not attempt to verify the numbers he reported. It criticized the IRS though for not more vigorously examining the filings. The IRS has a policy dating to the Nixon administration of automatically vetting every president’s returns — something designed to both assure the public that the tax system is being administered equitably and also to spare the IRS from having to make politically fraught decisions over which presidents to audit. Little is known publicly about how that process work. A 1998 law makes White House meddling in audits a felony. Neal told reporters though he had not come across evidence that Trump had tried to influence the agency when it came to examining his taxes. The super-rich are typically subject to relatively high audit rates. The IRS says it examined 8.7 percent of those who made more than $10 million in 2019. People in the top 0.01 percent of incomes, making more than $7.4 million in 2020, paid an average tax rate of 25.1 percent. The average rate that year for everyone was 13.6 percent. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden reported paying 24.6 percent. It is highly unusual for lawmakers to forcibly release private tax information, and Trump was not legally required to disclose his taxes. But he defied a decades-old tradition of presidents volunteering their filings, incensing congressional Democrats who seized his returns under a century-old law allowing the chairs of Congress’s tax committees to examine anyone’s private tax information. Many Democrats said the public not only had a right to know about Trump’s finances, they also said they wanted to know how vigorously the IRS was questioning the president’s returns. Republicans scoffed, saying Democrats were simply looking for ways to embarrass Trump and warned Neal’s move would create a precedent that could be used against other people. Democrats got his personal returns as well as a handful of business filings from 2015 to 2020 — mostly coinciding with Trump’s time in office. Some said Democrats did not demand to see enough of Trump’s records, arguing they should have asked for more from previous years, before he was running for president, that could have still been under audit when he came to the White House. Democrats’ impending release of the returns will create an opportunity for a crowdsourced audit, with outside tax experts eager to weigh in, something Trump confidante Michael Cohen told Congress in 2019 that Trump feared if they ever became public. “What he didn’t want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax returns and start ripping it to pieces, and then he’ll end up in an audit and he’ll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties and so on,” Cohen said.

Auburn's guards and teammates looking for bounce back win vs. Huskies Mark Murphy 5–6 minutes As the Auburn basketball team heads into its final pre-conference game on Wednesday at Washington, the Tigers are in major need of better play from the guard position. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CST and the contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The Huskies, who are 9-3 overall and 7-1 in home games, rely on strong play from a trio of senior guards. Auburn, which goes into the matchup with a 9-2 record, has dropped two of its last three games and didn’t have a strong performance in the win vs. Georgia State sandwiched between losses to Memphis and USC. Two of the Tigers’ top three scorers are guards with junior Wendell Green leading the squad with his average of 12.7 points per contest. Another junior, K.D. Johnson, is the No. 3 scorer at 10.4 per game, which also trails sophomore center Johni Broome’s 11.6 points per contest. In the last three games Green has made just 6-22 field goals and is 0-8 on three-pointers. The majority of his points have come from the foul line where he has made 21-26 free throws. Green, who is the team’s assist leader with 40, has eight assists to go with nine turnovers in the past three games. He played a season-low 12 minutes in Sunday’s loss to USC after struggling on both ends of the court while trying to come back from an ankle injury he suffered in the final minute of the previous game, a 72-64 win over Georgia State. Johnson, the second-leading returning scorer from last season behind Green, is also in a shooting slump. He made just 5-15 field goals in the 82-73 loss to Memphis. Johnson was held out of the Georgia State game and on Sunday vs. the Trojans he was 0-5 from the field, including three tries on three-point shots. Johnson made 9-11 free throws in his last two outsings, but turned the ball over nine times to go with four assists. Graduate transfer guard Zep Jasper has not been able to pick up the scoring slack. He is 4-12 from the field, 3-10 on threes and has not been to the foul line in the previous three outings. He has just one assist, but has played without a turnover in those games. Each of the two freshmen in the mix at guard have had very different recent results. Chance Westry is 0-8 from the field, 0-4 on threes, 0-0 at the foul line with three assists and five turnovers in the last three games. He played only a minute on Sunday vs. USC due to ball-handling issues. After being used sparingly and not playing vs. Memphis, Tre Donaldson has taken advantage of his expanded opportunity by making 6-11 field goals, 3-5 threes, 3-5 free throws with four assists and three turnovers. Seven of his 11 steals have come in the past two games. Looking at his team’s loss to the Trojans, Coach Bruce Pearl said Green’s struggle was a major factor. “He tried,” Pearl said. “He got about 12 minutes in there and he just wasn’t effective. “Tre Donaldson really stepped up and did a terrific job, but got in foul trouble and we had to play Zep Jasper some at point,” Pearl said. “He did a fantastic job and then in the second half Chance really struggled against pressure.” Donaldson said he feels like he is ready for an expanded role, saying he has been “working my butt off” in practice and is eager to show what he can do. Asked if playing well in Auburn’s first true road game of the season was a confidence booster, he said, “My confidence is always going to stay up. My teammates have helped me build my confidence more and more throughout the season. I am just counting on them and I know they trust me.” The freshman from Tallahassee, Fla., added, “My confidence is going to stay high no matter what at home or on the road.” Tre Donaldson has played in nine regular season games this season. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, 247Sports) The guards and the rest of the Tigers will try to play with confidence vs. Washington, a team that comes into the contest following a 90-55 win over Idaho State on Saturday. In the only previous Tigers vs. Huskies matchup the Tigers won 88-66 at Auburn during the 2018-19 season. The Huskies are 1-1 in league play. The Tigers and Huskies have no common opponents so far this season. Washington’s losses were 73-64 to California Baptist, 66-65 at Oregon State and 77-60 at Gonzaga. Keon Brooks, a 6-7 senior forward who transferred to Washington from Kentucky, is the top scorer (16.8 points per game) and top rebounder (6.7). He started for the Wildcats last season vs. Auburn, finishing with six points, four rebounds, two turnovers and one blocked shot in UK’s road loss. Cole Bajema, a 6-7 senior guard, is the other Washington player scoring in double figures at 10.7 points while averaging 4.8 rebounds.

Tigers hope to 'rise to the challenge' at Washington Mark Murphy 5–6 minutes The Auburn basketball Tigers will look return home with a split in games vs. Pac-12 opponents as they play at Washington for the first time in program history. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CST on Wednesday and the game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. A sellout crowd at the 10,000-seat Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle is expected for just the second-ever meeting between the 23rd-ranked Tigers and the Huskies in hoops. Auburn handled Washington 88-66 on Nov. 9, 2018 and this is the return game for the home-and-home series. “They say it is going to be a sellout, which is really interesting, so it will be our first hostile environment,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl pointed out. He noted that for Sunday’s road game, a 74-71 loss in Los Angeles to USC, in the crowd of 4,517 at the Galen Center there were a lot of fans cheering for the Tigers. The last time Washington sold out Alaska Airlines Arena was for a 75-62 upset of top-ranked and undefeated Stanford on March 6, 2004. Auburn brings a 9-2 record into the matchup while the Huskies are 9-3, including a 1-1 start in Pac-12 play with a one-point loss at Oregon State and a 10-point win at home vs. Colorado in front of 7,261 fans, the largest crowd of the season for Washington. Pearl said a key to his team’s success is dealing with Washington’s zone defense and avoiding turnovers when attacking it, something that was a major problem on Sunday at USC. “I think our turnovers were being really careless, trying to go too fast, throwing the ball all over the parking lot,” Pearl said of his team’s season-high total of 23 turnovers, 11 more than it forced. As a result the Trojans outscored Auburn 23-18 in points off of turnovers. “I am hoping we are able to rise to the challenge,” Pearl said of playing back-to-back road games far away from home. “How am I supposed to go to Georgia in the second SEC game and expect to win if I can’t come to Washington and have a chance to win.” The coach added, “We had a chance to win at USC and we turned it over too many times. We have a chance to win here.” Wednesday’s game will be the first time Auburn has played basketball in the Pacific Northwest. Washington coach Mike Hopkins said it is exciting for the Huskies to have a ranked non-conference team come to Seattle. “When you're playing Auburn, they are such an aggressive team. A little bit like when you watch Houston. They play exceptionally hard, they have great energy like their head coach. “They crash the glass, they try and create havoc and steals,” he said. “That's what they do and you have got to be able to...in the first half of our game when we played them three years ago we had nine turnovers in the first half that equalled 20 points, and we were down 20 at halftime so that's obviously what you have to do. You have to be able to handle the ball, you have to be able to handle their pressure. They are very aggressive, I think they are the top shot-blocking team in the country. It'll be a great test, great challenge." Auburn Basketball Notes: Pearl noted that he really liked what he saw from Johni Broome on Sunday vs. USC, saying he was “very, very proud” of the 6-10, 235 center. Broome led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points while making 7-8 field goals vs. the Trojans. He also led Auburn in rebounds with eight. “I thought he and Dylan (Cardwell) both won their position very substantially,” the coach said. “If that can continue it bodes well for us.”...Auburn leads the nation in blocked shots per game at 7.5 and Washington is second at 6.2. Johni Broome came to Auburn as a transfer from Morehead State. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Auburn247, 247Sports) 9COMMENTS Washington has designated the game a “Purple Out” and is encouraging fans to wear purple clothing. The Huskies will give away rally towels to the first 2,500 fans in the arena...Auburn’s other non-conference road game is scheduled on Jan. 28th at West Virginia as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge...Washington dominated Idaho State 90-55 on Saturday night in a game that featured a season-best 24 assists for the Huskies....Washington has been a strong second half team. It has outscored opponents by 67 points in the period and won five times after trailing at intermission...Washington coach Mike Hopkins has won two Pac-12 Coach of the Year Awards in his five previous seasons leading the program...The Huskies brought in four transfers who have combined to play 278 college games. Included in that group is 6-7 forward Keon Brooks, who made the move from Kentucky for the 2022-23 season. He is averaging 16.8 points and 6.7 rebounds...The Pac-12 Network can be seen on CenturyLink, Charter Spectrum, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DISH, Frontier, fuboTV and Sling TV. Tigers Look for Bounce Back Victory

it has been tough for a while for us Auburn fans. i posted this to lighten things up a bit. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves. we have almost a hundred looks and not one comment. if you boys are scared just say so. this is nothing more than a cross eyed way to show our mods some love. i will not apologize for trying to make folks laugh. maybe i am just not that funny. i have to run take a blind friend shopping and if no replies i will delete this when i get back. no sense in keeping on if the fish are not biting right?

Bo's runnng help us beat the turds...................

i guess you missed his performance at oregon this past season. he was stellar and his long balls were a thing of beauty. maybe you should look harder at hars because bo took off with the right coaching. he was in the heisman talk for a while as well.

i beg you to let the mods and admins inside so they can stay warm.

Turnovers plague Auburn in loss to USC - The Auburn Plainsman 5–6 minutes Despite improving in a number of key areas: turnovers, foul trouble and injuries were too much for No. 19 Auburn to overcome in a 74-71 loss in the Galin Center to the USC Trojans in its first of two games on the West Coast. "I thought we played better tonight. We gave ourselves a chance," said head coach Bruce Pearl. "We talked after the Georgia State game that I felt like we needed to play better to have a chance to win these games now, and I thought we did. Obviously, turnovers killed us." The Tigers started strong in Los Angeles with a first half that included a 14-2 scoring run into the halftime locker room – one that had a large Auburn crowd on its feet. Tre Donaldson had a career high 10 points in the first half alone, and Johni Broome had 11 first half points on 5-of-6 makes from the field. But, in the second half USC, was able to take advantage of the Auburn mistakes and injuries. “In the first half, there was a lot of freedom. Both teams playing hard. And in the second half, we had like eight fouls in the first four or five minutes, and it just took the aggressiveness out,” Pearl said. In the second half alone, Auburn had 14 turnovers and a season-high total of 23 in the game, which turned into 17 USC points off turnovers. Auburn was also without starting point guard, Wendell Green Jr., for the majority of the second half, exiting the game with 17:44 to play. Jaylin Williams also had to leave the floor with 3:39 to play after a hard fall that kept him out of the remainder of the game. "I think a couple things were factors out here,” Pearl said. “One obviously being Wendell Green not being able to really play. He tried. He got about 12 minutes in there. And it just it just wasn't effective. You know, Tre Donaldson really stepped up and did a terrific job, but then Tre got in foul trouble.” Tre Donaldson had a career high 12 points in Green’s absence, along with shooting 2-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 from downtown, and grabbing two rebounds and four steals. Donaldson, however, got into foul trouble late, committing his second and third by 16:28 left in the second half. With Donaldson limited due to foul trouble and Wendell out with injury, Zep Jasper and KD Johnson were called upon to play predominantly down the stretch at the one and two positions. The two combined for a total of 12 points, 2-for-10 from the field, 2-of-7 from the 3-point line and four assists. Still, none of Auburn’s guards were able to shine as bright at USC’s senior guard Boogie Ellis. “Boogie had 28 points and two steals, but Boogie was incredible in all aspects of the game and he defended and he was physical,” said USC head coach Andy Enfield. “He was quick, he was aggressive on offense, he was aggressive on defense. I thought he played his best game of the year. He made the right decisions on offense. He didn't force a lot of things, he made some shots and he just shot. I just thought he played a great game.” Ellis went 9-for-15 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep, and was 8-for-10 on free throws, some of which helped seal the win in the final minute of action. His 28 points was a career high after having 27 points in three prior occasions during his career. “We needed this big win especially after the Bahamas,” Ellis said. “You know, we came up short there. We needed a big resume game for March, so it gives us a lot of confidence knowing that we can play with one of the best teams in the country. Now we just had to build off of it and trust one another and just keep getting better." Kobe Johnson and Joshua Morgan were the only other Trojans in double figures, both with 10 points. Johnson also led the team with five rebounds, four assists and six steals. "Bottom line is just turnovers,” Pearl said. “If we just can take a little bit better care of the ball and we don't turn the ball over, we win the game." At 9-2, Auburn will look to clean up its' play in Seattle, Washington, against another Pac-12 foe in the Washington Huskies on Wednesday. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CST from Alaska Airlines Arena and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Auburn Plainsman delivered to your inbox Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman. Share and discuss “Turnovers plague Auburn in loss to USC” on social media.

Charles Barkley shares when admiration for Bruce Pearl began Nathan King 4–5 minutes Of all the fans and supporters Bruce Pearl has garnered during his successful run at Auburn, now in its ninth season, perhaps none are of higher profile than Charles Barkley, himself one of the greatest players in program history. But Barkley’s admiration for Pearl began when the head coach was donning a different shade of orange. On the Talking Tigers Podcast this week, Barkley explained to host Andy Burcham that his preparation for March Madness coverage on TNT and its associated networks begins every year as soon as the New Year turns. He watches at least three college basketball games a day and receives weekly written reports on the performances of every conference. During the latter stages of Pearl’s tenure at Tennessee, Barkley remembers being impressed by the Vols’ execution and game-planning on a week-to-week basis. “I start studying, and I’m like, ‘That damn coach at Tennessee, he’s a hell of a coach,’” Barkley said. So Barkley one night, after studying a Tennessee game, got Pearl’s number and left him a voicemail. Barkley estimated it was seven years before Auburn hired Pearl in 2014, so around the 2008 season — when Tennessee won its third SEC regular-season championship in four years. “I just said, ‘Coach Pearl, we’ve never met,’” Barkley said. “But I’ve been studying my tapes, getting ready for March Madness. And I just wanted to tell you, man, you’re a hell of a coach.” Many years later, of course, Barkley's support of Pearl’s success at his alma mater has continued to swell, as he routinely highlights Pearl's teams on his TV platforms, and also mentions Auburn's handful of players in the NBA. “One thing about Bruce Pearl: We’re never going to get out-coached,” Barkley said. “We might not have the best team. But we’re never going to get out-coached because he is one of the best at Xs and Os. You have to have a game plan, a plan B, and maybe even a plan C. The only thing I know about Coach Pearl … he might even have a plan D. That’s how good he and Steven (Pearl) and that coaching staff is.” This past offseason, Barkley laughed at the thought of the 2021-22 campaign being anything but a massive success — though he does understand why fans were bummed Auburn didn't make it to the second weekend of the tournament. “It was an interesting year for Auburn because it ended on a down note,” Barkley said in May. “I love Bruce Pearl. To tell you how far Auburn basketball has come: I never thought we would get to the point where we win an NCAA game, and people would be disappointed. That’s a credit to him.” Defending a regular-season SEC crown, Auburn (9-2) has dropped two of its last three games in nonconference play to Memphis and USC, but still came in ranked at No. 23 in the AP poll Monday. The Tigers return to action Wednesday night at Washington (8 p.m. CST, Pac-12 Network) in their nonconference finale before beginning SEC competition at home Dec. 28 against Florida. 1COMMENTS Barkley also mentioned his correspondence with Auburn’s new football coach, Hugh Freeze, shortly after he was hired earlier this month. “I said, ‘Coach, you’re the leader of our family now,’” Barkley said. “‘I’m going to support you publicly 110 percent. We welcome you to the Auburn family. There’s a lot of noise out there. But I want you to know you’re our coach, and anybody coaches at Auburn, I’m going to support them 110 percent.’” ">247Sports

Bruce Pearl pleased with Auburn's progress 'if we can continue to grow' Nathan King 5–6 minutes Auburn has lost two of three games, but the last person to say the sky is falling would be Bruce Pearl. In fact, the Tigers’ head coach saw several areas of improvement for his team Sunday night. They just weren’t able to capitalize on them, and turned the ball over 23 times in the process, eventually losing 74-71 at USC. Auburn shot 46.8 percent from the floor, its best clip in a true road game since a win at Ole Miss last January. It bested USC by 13 in the rebounding department, the best margin for the team against a high-major foe since last February against Texas A&M. A 34.8 percent mark from 3-point range is Auburn’s fourth-best of the season so far. It was doomed by a season-high in giveaways — and 19 fouls in the second half burned, too. But Pearl saw plenty of signs of growth for his 2022-23 squad, compared to its loss last Saturday against Memphis, and a sluggish outing Wednesday against Georgia State. “Thought we played better tonight,” Pearl said. “We gave ourselves a chance. We talked after the Georgia State game that I felt like we needed to play better to have a chance to win these games now, and I thought we did.” The Tigers seemed to find a groove right before halftime, when they went on a 14-2 run in the final five minutes of the first half, with zero turnovers during that stretch. Backup point guard Tre Donaldson reached a career-high 10 points in the first half alone, and center Johni Broome notched 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, after Auburn endured a scoring blast from USC guard Boogie Ellis. “I thought we communicated well,” Pearl said. “I thought the coaches had a real good preparation this week and a really good game plan. I thought we executed for the most part. We played a lot better.” Then the turnovers changed from bothersome to chronic midway through the second half. Auburn’s 14 turnovers in the second half alone are more than it’s had in seven full games this season. From the 11:15 mark in the second half, when K.D. Johnson had an errant pass for a turnover on two straight possessions, Auburn had a whopping seven giveaways in less than four minutes of ensuing game time. USC grabbed the lead back thanks to the extra possessions and never relinquished it. Four came from Johnson, who had the most turnovers (six) of his entire career and shot 0-for-5. Two came from freshman Chance Westry in less than two minutes after checking in at point guard. The Tigers were without starting point guard Wendell Green Jr., who started the game after an ankle injury last week, for the majority of the second half. He checked out less than three minutes after halftime to have his ankle looked at and never returned. USC caused more than a few turnovers by jamming Auburn’s halfcourt sets near halfcourt, and Green Jr.s speed and slipperiness could have helped offset some of those issues, Pearl said. “I think having a healthy Wendell would've allowed us to attack pressure and, hopefully, hurt pressure,” Pearl said. “Look, no excuses. But obviously it hurt us.” Auburn turned the ball over on more than one-third of its possessions in the second half (39.8 percent), and for the game overall, exactly one-third (33.3 percent) of the time the Tigers had the ball, they came up completely empty by giving it away to the Trojans. Auburn was able to buck another unsightly trend, though, by winning comfortably on the glass. The Tigers had 32 boards to USC’s 19, snapping a stretch of being outrebounded in four of their last five games. It was, however, only the second time in the Pearl era that Auburn was plus-10 or better in rebounding in a game and still lost. Last year’s overtime loss at Arkansas was the first (plus-14). “It's a stepping stone,” Broome said of Auburn’s rebounding. “We've been emphasizing that the whole year. We know we can do it. We've just got to be consistent with it.” An 0-2 trip to the West Coast would be a rough segway to the start of SEC competition. But Pearl knows if Auburn can take better care of the basketball and keep the same improvements humming along, it should have a strong chance to beat Washington on the road Wednesday. The Huskies aren’t as strong as USC in several metrics on both ends of the floor. “Look, I'm pleased with this team right now if we can continue to grow,” Pearl said. “We made a lot of progress since last week against Memphis.” Auburn flew out to Seattle on Monday morning and will take on Washington in the return game of a home-and-home series that began on the Plains all the way back in 2018. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CST on the Pac-12 Network.

Tigers still ranked in AP and coaches polls Mark Murphy ~3 minutes The Auburn basketball team has dropped four spots in the AP Top 25 poll after suffering its second loss of the season. On Sunday the Tigers lost 74-71 vs. the USC Trojans in Los Angeles. The Tigers are ranked No. 23 in this week’s AP poll with their 9-2 record. Unbeaten Purdue held on to its No. 1 spot with unbeaten UConn at No. 2 followed by a one-loss Houston team at No. 3. Auburn dropped six spots in this week’s USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll to 24th. From the Southeastern Conference the highest ranked team in the AP poll is 9-2 Tennessee at No. 8, one spot ahead of 9-2 Alabama with 10-1 Arkansas checking in at No. 10. Mississippi State, which is 11-0, is the fourth highest ranked SEC team and 7-3 Kentucky is 19th, the spot where Auburn was ranked in the previous poll. In the coaches poll Purdue, Connecticut and Houston hold the top three spots. Arkansas is the top-ranked SEC team at No. 8 followed by No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 16 Kentucky. Coach Bruce Pearl’s Auburn team will play its final pre-conference game on Wednesday night in Seattle where the Tigers will take on the Washington Huskies. That game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. Auburn begins its conference schedule on Dec. 28th as the Florida Gators visit Neville Arena. Against USC the Tigers led 39-35 at halftime after overcoming an eight-point deficit, but too many turnovers cost the Tigers a chance to win. Auburn pulled in 32 rebounds to 19 for the Trojans, but the home team finished the game with five more field goal attempts and three more free throw attempts. That was the result of 23 turnovers by the Tigers, a season high for the team, and just 12 turnovers for the Trojans. Pearl said he was not happy with the way the Tigers played in their previous game, a 72-64 home victory over Georgia State that follow an 82-73 loss to the Memphis Tigers the previous Saturday in a game played at Atlanta. The coach said he saw signs of progress on Sunday vs. the Trojans. “I am pleased with this team right now, if we can continue to grow,” he sad. “We have made a lot of progress since last week against Memphis.” AP Top 25 Poll

Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column Jason Caldwell ~4 minutes Down the stretch they come With just a few days left and the hay in the barn as far as pre-early signing period football visits go, Coach Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers are done with in-person visits as they continue working the phones to try for a strong finish to the early signing period. Who knows how it will turn out, but I’m not sure what else this coaching staff could have done to pull things together beyond what they’ve done since pulling together. It’s early and we’ve got a small sample size, but I don’t remember a head coach in my 20+ years of covering that Tigers wo recruits as well as Freeze does. He seems to connect very well with the players and parents. If you’ve got a guy like that then you’ve got a chance to do big things on the recruiting trail. Speaking of big, Auburn already has four high school offensive linemen committed and are looking for maybe four more guys heading into the 2023 season. The Tigers have put themselves in a great position with new OL coach Jake Thornton and staff members Joe Bernardi and Kendall Simmons both doing a great job of selling the Auburn program and the potential for early playing time. With junior college tackles Isaiah Jatta and Izavion Miller visiting the last two weekends along with transfer players like Amari Kight, Walter Rouse, Dillon Wade and Ben Scott, if the Tigers could get three of the six tey would be in really good shape for next season. This class has the potential to have a big finish with James Smith, Qua Russaw, Tony Mitchell, Keldric Faulk, Tyler Scott and others still looking at the Tigers. No matter what happens the next three days, I have seen enough to show me that the future is going to be very bright under Freeze at Auburn. Basketball thoughts I’m not sure you could play worse than Auburn did against USC on Sunday. To have a chance to still win the game shows you the competitive nature of this team and program, but they’re going to be on the losing end a lot more this season if they don’t shore up some of the big issues for this team. On Sunday it was turnovers, especially in the second half. A team that features plenty of older players just looked out of sorts at times. While USC has a pretty good environment, this Auburn team is going to face a lot tougher road ahead against more athletic teams. The turnover issues have to get solved in a hurry. One way may be for Tre Donaldson to keep getting more playing time. One week ago I talked about getting him on the court more at the point guard position and this week he has delivered. Auburn played its best basketball when he was on the court against the Trojans before foul trouble cost him and the Tigers. 82COMMENTS For a team that has a group of guards that all seemingly play like shooting guards, Donaldson is a classic point guard that takes me back to the days of Doc Robinson and a guy like Corey Beck at Arkansas. Doc ran the show for some very good Auburn teams and was in control. Beck played the game like a strong safety, which is what Donaldson was in high school. He has that same mentality. The key for this Auburn team and how far they can ultimately go may well rest on Donaldson’s shoulders and how much he continues to develop. ">247Sports

Auburn Football: Breaking Down Ron Roberts’s Defensive Scheme Caleb Williams 3–4 minutes New Auburn football defensive coordinator Ron Roberts ingratiated himself to Auburn Twitter with a deep-fried profile picture Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports Use your ← → (arrows) to browse New Auburn Football Head Coach Hugh Freeze has hired the first defensive coordinator of his tenure on the Plains. Ron Roberts, who has spent the last three years as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Baylor University under Dave Aranda, has accepted an offer to become the new defensive coordinator for the Tigers. In an official statement from Auburn University, Coach Freeze called Ron Roberts “a great fit for what we are wanting to do on both sides of the ball.” Coach Roberts also said in this announcement that, “we want to be aggressive, put pressure on opposing defenses and fly to the football.” What Auburn football Fans Should Expect from a Ron Roberts Defense When looking at a defense that is coached by Ron Roberts, we can look no further than the 2021 Baylor defense, which gave up less than 350 yards per game and less than 18 points per game in an offensively oriented Big 12 Conference. Roberts has utilized a base 4-2-5 nickel defense throughout his career to allow for more flexibility in both pass coverage and run defense. On the surface, the 4-2-5 is one of several forms of the nickel defense, which puts six defenders in the box and 5 defenders in the secondary. By balancing the number of defenders on the frontend and the backend of the defense, defenses do not have to commit numbers to either the run or the pass and can traditionally defend both out of the same coverage. The 4-2-5 is the most popular defensive scheme in 2022 because of how well it translates to both spread offenses and smashmouth pro-style attacks. This is because there are theoretically as many as ten run defenders and seven pass defenders on the field at all times. All four corners, including the nickelbacker, who is a cornerback/outside linebacker hybrid and traditionally plays in the slot, can fill the box. Both true linebackers can drop into coverage. This style of defense is extremely versatile for adapting to the many styles of offense that Auburn football will face in the 2023 season and beyond. Run Defense In the run defense, Roberts will use what he has endearingly called “creepers”, which are non-defensive linemen used to blitz and create pressure. The beauty of this is that there is an extra man in the box to stop perimeter run plays like outside zone and jet sweep so that the defensive line and linebackers do not have to pursue long distances. In a day and age where teams are looking to get the ball to the perimeter with all five eligible receivers, this can greatly help contain outside runs from turning the corner. Utilizing a 4-2-5 with creepers also ensures that there are enough players in the box to stop both gap and zone blocking schemes. Traditionally, gap schemes are run against even front defenses, like 4-2-5, 4-3, 4-1 dime defenses, whereas zone schemes are typically run against odd fronts, such as 3-3-5, 3-2-6, and 5-2 defenses. By ensuring that a corner or nickelbacker, will always be entering the box, both gap and zone schemes are going to be choked off from finding space.

Hugh Freeze, with some sadness, ‘cheering hard’ for Liberty as Flames prepare for Boca Raton Bowl Updated: Dec. 20, 2022, 7:07 a.m.|Published: Dec. 20, 2022, 7:04 a.m. ~2 minutes Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze speaks during his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 29 2022 in Auburn, Ala. Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics/AU At Hugh Freeze will be watching with interest - even sadness - when Liberty attempts to win its fourth straight bowl game when its plays Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The game will be live streamed on fuboTV (free trial). The Flames will be led by interim coach Josh Aldridge after Freeze took Auburn’s head coaching job. “What an incredible journey,” Freeze tweeted Tuesday morning. “Today, I will watch with some sadness to not be there as our guys go for their 4th straight bowl win. I’m forever grateful for the laughs, big wins, tears and most of all the memories with you all. Go get #4!!! I will be cheering hard from The Plains.” Toledo, meanwhile, is 1-4 in its past five bowl appearances and has lost four straight bowl games under coach Jason Candle. The two teams have only met three times, but not since 2007. Toledo has won each time. Liberty and Toledo kick off at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN. Freeze took over at Liberty in 2019 where he compiled a 34-15 record, including 8-4 this year. The Flames ended the season with three straight losses, including a 49-14 blowout against New Mexico State. Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.

Zac Etheridge ‘here to stay’ as part of Hugh Freeze’s Auburn staff Updated: Dec. 19, 2022, 8:46 p.m.|Published: Dec. 19, 2022, 8:43 p.m. 3–4 minutes Nov 19, 2022; Auburb, AL, USA; Coach Zac Etheridge during Tiger Walk before the game between Auburn and Western Kentucky at Jordan Hare Stadium. Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics Zac Etheridge is officially remaining at his alma mater. Etheridge has been expected to remain on staff under new Auburn coach Hugh Freeze -- and has been out recruiting for the Tigers the last several weeks leading up to the start of the early signing period -- but the former Auburn captain and national champion made it official Monday. Etheridge announced late Monday afternoon that he is “here to stay” at Auburn and will be a part of Freeze’s inaugural staff on the Plains. Read more Auburn football: 22 Alabamians who made a difference in ‘22: Cadillac Williams ‘here to serve’ after leading Auburn Tigers Auburn brings in 1st transfer of 2023, adds Rivaldo Fairweather Auburn flips 2 SEC commits in the same day, adds 3-star DL Etheridge just completed his second year on staff at his alma mater, coaching the Tigers’ defensive backs and serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator this past season. He was hired by former coach Bryan Harsin in January 2021 to be part of his inaugural staff and coach cornerbacks. Etheridge chose to remain at Auburn last offseason despite overtures from other programs, including defending national champion Georgia, where coach Kirby Smart attempted to lure Etheridge to Athens, Ga., for a role on staff with the Bulldogs. In deciding to remain at Auburn last offseason, Etheridge received a raise as well as the added title of recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach -- overseeing the entire secondary instead of just the cornerbacks. He earned $600,000 during the 2022 season as part of a new two-year contract. New terms for Etheridge to remain at Auburn on Freeze’s staff have not yet been released by the university. A former four-year starter at Auburn and captain on the 2010 national championship team, Etheridge previously worked at Houston during the 2019 and 2020 seasons before returning to the Plains as an assistant coach. The former All-America defensive back began his foray into coaching in 2012 as a graduate assistant at Penn State. That was followed by two seasons as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech, which led to his first on-field assistant opportunity at Western Carolina in 2016. He spent two seasons at Western Carolina coaching cornerbacks and outside linebackers before coaching cornerbacks at Louisiana in 2018, when he worked under then-Ragin’ Cajuns defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, who was recently hired as Auburn’s defensive coordinator. As of Monday evening, Freeze still had two on-field roles to fill on his inaugural staff: wide receivers coach and linebackers coach, the latter opening after Christian Robinson was not retained last week. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.