Men vs Morehead State Game Thread

[Maverick.AU 13,282]

Lior!!!! 75-50 AU!!! Under a minute 

[Playoffs?! 5]

Could be. I’ll take being wrong if AU shines 

[tgrogan21 6,198]

Walk-ons coming in. Cook, Cressman, Leopard, Maasdorp, and Berman.

Berman with the layup!! 75-50 AU

Edited November 10, 2021 by tgrogan21

[Maverick.AU 13,282]

Final 77-54 AU!!!

[tgrogan21 6,198]

Former walk-on Cook with the putback!!

[mustache eagle 2,429]

At one point it looked like we’d flirt with a century but fell well short.  Great win with plenty to work on.  Stats are fairly average in general.  Great way to start the year.  Minutes for everyone!!!!!

[bigbird 60,624]

Appreciate it @Maverick.AU and @tgrogan21

[tgrogan21 6,198]

1 minute ago, Maverick.AU said:

Final 77-54 AU!!!

War Eagle! Glad to have basketball back and thanks for doing the PBP.

[Maverick.AU 13,282]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

Appreciate it @Maverick.AU and @tgrogan21

 

[Playoffs?! 5]

Also appreciate everyone’s contributions to the thread. WDE!

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

Thank you guys for the info . Great win 

[gravejd 3,281]

We’ll win a LOT of games if they play with that level of energy on defense the whole season. Really impressive effort by our guys! 

[Dunndone414 469]

Our guards have to get Jabari more shots. Hope they figure out quickly that he’s this team’s best player. 
 

Wendell is so much fun on offense. Kessler’s shot didn’t look great but he may lead the nation in blocks. Must avoid another guard injury at all costs. Going to need Wendell to play most of the game regardless.
 

If Jaylin can make an impact off the bench offensively when Jabari sits - that could be the difference in good vs great this season. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

I’d strongly contend that Kessler and Jabari have the best play making vision on this team. I’m just gonna stick to pros after a game like this and avoid listing some of the folks on the other end of that spectrum 

On defense, Morehead State did a wonderful job in the second half of getting the ball out quicker when Auburn would press or gamble for steals in the back court. That philosophy requires supreme consistency with your rotations and those got more lackadaisical in the second half as well for us. Good thing is…they obviously don’t have to press and gamble. They felt like that would work against this team, it largely did, and that’s a strategy you can tweak in the future. In normal half court D, I thought they looked great

My main two gripes really is just guards have got to find or create angles to get the ball to Kessler and Jabari down low. That looked bad as ever as Auburn guards go. I have another but I feel like this post is looking more negative than I mean it to be. It really was a solid win 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

1 hour ago, Dunndone414 said:

Our guards have to get Jabari more shots. Hope they figure out quickly that he’s this team’s best player. 
 

Wendell is so much fun on offense. Kessler’s shot didn’t look great but he may lead the nation in blocks. Must avoid another guard injury at all costs. Going to need Wendell to play most of the game regardless.
 

If Jaylin can make an impact off the bench offensively when Jabari sits - that could be the difference in good vs great this season. 

The Auburn bball heads on Twitter had a talking session last night and they said some things that reinforced what I was reading from UNC fans after the transfer. The guy isn’t a fluid shooter. However, they also made a bare bones comparison to Joel Embiid to display someone who does a lot of good from the perimeter even w/o a consistent stroke 

Walker has fantastic vision, a relatively good handle, and clearly has retained some of the UNC feel for operating in set plays. I also think all the pick and pop actions display that Bruce also believes he can contribute from there even without being a shooter 

Cant wait for the inevitable PnR with him and Jabari 

[bigbird 60,624]

6 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

PnR with him and Jabari

Throw in some Hi-lo

[aubiefifty 17,487]

Rewinding Auburn basketball’s season-opening win against Morehead State

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-7 minutes

---

For the first time in 20 months, Auburn Arena was rocking again.

After a season in which attendance was limited due to COVID-19, Auburn Arena was back to full capacity as the Tigers opened their 2021-22 campaign. The student section arrived early and The Jungle was abuzz as Bruce Pearl’s team tipped off its highly anticipated season.

Read more Auburn basketball: Auburn opens 2021-22 season with Final Four hopes

Acclimating new PGs becoming annual affair for Bruce Pearl

Auburn has luxury of biggest frontcourt of Bruce Pearl’s career

No. 22 Auburn defeated Morehead State, 77-54, in the teams’ season-opener as the Tigers began their quest for a Final Four run against one of last year’s NCAA Tournament teams. Wendell Green Jr. paced four Auburn players in double figures with 19 points to go with five rebounds and three assists. K.D. Johnson had 12 points, while Devan Cambridge added 11 and Jaylin Williams finished with 10.

Freshman Jabari Smith Jr. finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists in his collegiate debut, while UNC transfer Walker Kessler chipped in with six points, six rebounds and five blocks.

Below is a blow-by-blow recap of the night’s action.

FINAL: Auburn 77, Morehead State 54

-- Auburn clears its bench with 1:11 to play. Walk-ons (and former walk-on Preston Cook) in the game now.

-- Former Auburn star Sharife Cooper is in the house tonight. He’s the Celebrity Letter Holder.

-- Auburn 71, Morehead State 45 (4:01): Loudest roar of the night comes after -- who else? -- Dylan Cardwell throws down a fastbreak dunk. The fan favorite then blows a kiss to the crowd.

-- Jabari Smith is checking back in with five minutes to play, but before he does, K.D. Johnson goes down hard under the hoop after a collision on Morehead State’s last basket. He stays down for a couple minutes but walks off under his own power as fans chant “K.D.!”

-- Auburn is on a 10-0 run since the last timeout.

-- Auburn 57, Morehead State 43 (7:52): At the under-eight timeout, Jabari Smith is still getting his leg stretched out and looked at on the end of the bench.

-- Stoppage in play with 10:16 to go. Jabari Smith goes down on the court and has to be checked on. It’s his left leg. He walks up under his own power and is stretching his leg out on the bench. Based on how he was stretching, it appears to be a quad issue.

-- Auburn 55, Morehead State 41 (11:10): Morehead State has outscored Auburn 17-11 this half. Tigers haven’t scored in 2:03, while the Eagles are on a 6-0 run.

-- Auburn 53, Morehead State 34 (14:24): At the under-16 timeout, Auburn is being outscored 10-9 this half. But Devan Cambridge just brought Auburn Arena to its feet with a hammer down the left wing.

-- K.D. Johnson scores five straight for Auburn after Morehead State opens the half with back-to-back baskets.

HALFTIME: Auburn 44, Morehead State 24

-- Morehead State gets a little life late in the half, knocking down six of its final eight shots. At the break, Wendell Green Jr. is pacing Auburn with 11 points (3-of-5 from deep). Jabari Smith has eight points and five rebounds. Walker Kessler has four points, five rebounds and four blocks.

-- Auburn 40, Morehead State 14 (3:07): We’ve hit the under-4 timeout in the first half. It took Morehead State a little more than 15 1/2 minutes to reach double-digit scoring against Auburn tonight. Tigers are shooting 56 percent from the floor, including 54 percent from deep. Eagles at just 25 percent overall.

-- Auburn 30, Morehead State 6 (7:15): At the under-8 timeout, Auburn is in the midst of a 10-0 run and an extended 17-2 run. Morehead State has missed its last five shots. Wendell Green Jr. leads all scorers with 11.

-- Auburn 20, Morehead State 4 (10:58): What a sequence from Wendell Green Jr. First he drives baseline and finishes with a reverse layup. Next trip down the court he spots up from 3 in transition to make it a 7-0 run for Auburn over the last 1:42. Walker Kessler has three blocks now, too.

-- Morehead State’s first made basket comes nearly seven minutes (6:53) into the game. Auburn currently leads 15-4 after answering with a dunk from Walker Kessler.

-- Auburn’s season-opening run ends at 11 straight points. Morehead State gets on the board with a pair of free throws from Ta’lon Cooper 5:21 into the game.

-- Auburn 9, Morehead State 0 (16:13): Auburn opens on a 9-0 run as Jabari Smith drills a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He’s gonna be a problem for teams this season. Walker Kessler also has two blocked shots already, as Auburn’s defense has come out on fire.

-- It’s 6-0 Auburn after a make by Devan Cambridge (on an intended lob to Walker Kessler that instead found the hoop) and a 3-pointer by Wendell Green Jr.

-- Zep Jasper gets the first point of the 2021-22 season. He splits a pair of free throws to give Auburn a 1-0 lead.

-- One defensive trip down the court, one blocked shot for Walker Kessler.

-- Auburn wins the tip, and Walker Kessler gets to the foul line on a drive to open things up. He misses both.

PREGAME

-- Auburn starting lineup: G Wendell Green Jr., G Zep Jasper, G Devan Cambridge, F Jabari Smith, F Walker Kessler.

-- Morehead State starting lineup: G Skyelar Potter, G Tray Hollowell, G Jake Wolfe, G Ta’lon Cooper, F Johni Broome.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[aubiefifty 17,487]

 

[NoALtiger 3,875]

Well I thought that was outstanding last night. Some of the “issues” folks are pointing out can and will be corrected, it’s the first real game for Gods sake. Bruce was also clearly working through different rotations and looking for the right balance because he knew he could and this was a great opportunity. We have a quality and deep bench and it’s going to take a little time to get it dialed in. Very exciting possibilities with this crew. 

[Dunndone414 469]

23 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

Well I thought that was outstanding last night. Some of the “issues” folks are pointing out can and will be corrected, it’s the first real game for Gods sake. Bruce was also clearly working through different rotations and looking for the right balance because he knew he could and this was a great opportunity. We have a quality and deep bench and it’s going to take a little time to get it dialed in. Very exciting possibilities with this crew. 

I hope my post game thoughts didn’t come across this negatively. We looked great, I’m thrilled to watch our guys this season.

[augolf1716 21,564]

Decent game

[Zeek 16,660]

Didn't get to watch but I just read through this thread. Looks like good stuff and suffocating defense early. We took control and never let it go, even if they shrunk the lead at one point, still managed to widen it to a solid margin and got walk-ons to play against a tournament team.

Bruce Pearl does such a fantastic job using different skill sets each season. Glad Rife is doing well so far in the NBA but man he would have been a fun PG on this squad too.

[Tiger 8,835]

We have a really nice, deep squad this year. Flanigan will be a welcomed addition a little later as well. The lack of a natural facilitator may hurt us at times but this is going to be a fun squad to watch grow into itself. Super excited for the season 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

12 hours ago, bigbird said:

Throw in some Hi-lo

Think they ran a set like that in the exhibition 

I think this is going to be a great opportunity for Bruce. I know he pitched 5 out to Kessler and Jabari but there’s some very funky things we can do that literally no other team in conference can replicate! Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins in NOP also comes to mind 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,841]

I didn’t even opine on the two last night but Cambridge (!!) and Chris Moore did a better job of being aggressive, putting the ball on the court and driving 

I just always enjoy when the “other” guys show more initiative than simply shooting or passing it back to the guards in this scheme. Especially when they CAN do so, unlike some of the more limited extras from the mid 2010s 

Also, there was a fantastic sequence where Jaylin got isolated to one side near the paint, KD kinda floated over, he received the pass, dished it to Jaylin, and the man did his thing from there. Couple post dribbles, kicked it back out, KD got a wide open trey. 
 

I feel like we have 3, 4 when AF gets back, stellar passers out the post, and that excites