2/6/23 Auburn Articles

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Auburn’s K.D. Johnson ‘getting his mojo back’ at just the right time

Published: Feb. 05, 2023, 10:21 a.m.

6–8 minutes

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Before Auburn traveled to Tennessee this weekend for a top-25 showdown at Thompson-Boling Arena, there was a moment during the second half of Wednesday’s blowout of Georgia that brought some familiar flare back to the Tigers.

K.D. Johnson hit a step-back fadeaway from the baseline, just in front of Auburn’s bench just before the under-12 media timeout. As the shot dropped through the net, Johnson leaned back and turned toward his teammates with a swaggering snarl.

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It was one of those expressions and moments that became mainstays of Johnson’s first season on the Plains last year but have seemingly been rarer this season as Johnson has endured his share of struggles on the offensive end. Now, with Auburn embarked on the back half of its grueling SEC slate, the scowls are returning — as is Johnson’s offensive burst.

Johnson registered his third straight game in double figures on Saturday, finishing with 10 points off the bench in No. 25 Auburn’s 46-43 slugfest against No. 2 Tennessee. He was one of two Tigers to score in double figures, along with Johni Broome, who had a team-high 11 points. It also marked just the second time this season Johnson has posted three straight games of at least 10 points and the first time he did so in SEC play.

“He’s getting his mojo back a little bit,” forward Jaylin Williams said earlier this week. “That’s the K.D. we need to win.”

Johnson’s recent run of improved play started with last week’s loss at West Virginia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. He finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench, as he posted his first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 10 against Memphis in Atlanta. That ended a stretch of 10 straight games — one-third of the regular season — in which Johnson struggled to crack double figures, averaging five points per game on 27.1 percent shooting during that stretch.

He followed it up with 13 points (on 4-of-7 shooting) and two steals off the bench in Auburn’s 21-point rout of Georgia, Johnson’s former team. He was one of four Tigers in double figures on the night, and 11 of his 13 points came in the second half.

“Well, his effort and energy are better, focus is better,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after that game. “He’s making plays defensively; he had three steals at West Virginia and one tonight. He was better on the offensive end, and I think it definitely translates.”

Johnson’s latest solid performance was in Saturday’s loss at Tennessee, as he provided some offensive punch on an afternoon when scoring was at a premium, with both the Tigers and Vols turning in their worst offensive performances of the season, albeit largely due to the teams’ tenacious efforts on the defensive end.

Johnson’s 10 points came on just 2-of-6 shooting, but he was aggressive in attacking the rim and finished 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. After Auburn fell behind by eight with 5:25 to play—a seemingly insurmountable deficit at that point, considering how little both offenses were able to muster—Johnson led the charge for the Tigers in their late-game rally.

He got a layup with five minutes left to cut it to six, and on the next trip down the court, he drew a foul on Zakai Zeigler and made both free throws to make it a four-point lead. That was followed by a defensive rebound off a missed Tennessee 3-point attempt on the next trip down the floor, as the Vols went cold down the stretch. Auburn got within one on a tip-in by Broome with 18 seconds left, but the Tigers’ upset bid fell short at the buzzer, when Wendell Green Jr. missed an attempted game-tying 3-pointer on a controversial final play that included a no-call from officials despite considerable contact by Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua.

Despite the loss, Johnson’s effort helped provide Auburn a chance at its biggest win of the season, and his recent resurgence has been a welcome sign for the Tigers at this point of the season.

The mercurial two-guard was Auburn’s second-leading scorer behind Jabari Smith last season, averaging 12.3 points per game in a starting role. He has struggled to find his rhythm this year while adapting to a sixth-man role as a junior, shooting just 35.2 percent from the field — and 25.7 percent from beyond the arc — while averaging 8.2 points per game.

“I’ve been playing a little sluggish for the team, and for us to be great as a whole, I have to be along with the team,” Johnson said after the Georgia game.

Johnson had just one stretch of consecutive games in single-digit scoring last season (a three-game stretch against Murray State, LSU and South Carolina), and he scored at least 10 points in 24 games, including a nine-game stretch in SEC play and five of the Tigers’ final six games of the 2021-22 season. This year, he had a promising run during nonconference play, when he averaged 13.3 points over a six-game stretch, but he has otherwise had trouble scoring at the rate he did last season.

That is, until the last three games. Pearl said he saw a chance in Johnson during practice the week of the West Virginia game. Something clicked. Senior wing Allen Flanigan noted Johnson was hustling more, beating defenders off the dribble like he so often did last season. He was more focused defensively, and his shots were starting to fall.

“(He’s) just doing the things he is capable of doing,” Flanigan said. “He has been practicing hard, practicing the right way. The practices lead over to the game. The good he has been doing in practice shows in the game.”

And just like that, some of that swagger has started to return for Johnson — and at a crucial point of the season for Auburn, which can use any added oomph it can find on offense as the postseason approaches.

“K.D.’s a great athlete,” Pearl said Saturday. “When you play the best teams on your schedule, you need his athleticism and his experience. His effort and his attitude have been really consistent. He’s really, really trying—and that’s great at this time of the year, because he’s definitely turning it on.”

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

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Joseph Goodman: Can’t ignore obvious with Auburn basketball

Updated: Feb. 05, 2023, 11:21 a.m.|Published: Feb. 05, 2023, 7:28 a.m.

6–8 minutes

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It appears like Auburn’s time among the top 25 teams in college basketball might be coming to an end.

At 32 straight weeks as a ranked team, it has been a program-altering run. With Bruce Pearl as its coach, Auburn men’s basketball has established itself as one of the premier programs in the SEC and the country. The streak included Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, the glorious rise of deep-fried memes, a new name for the arena and the addition of The Jungle to the short list of best atmospheres in college basketball.

Rankings don’t mean anything in college basketball? It’s all a matter of perspective.

This current Auburn team has its limitations, but it’s a tough group that no team will want to face in the NCAA Tournament. And if Auburn remains in the AP Top 25 another week after its 46-43 loss to No.2 Tennessee on Saturday, then we’ll all know what America’s sportswriters thought about that non-call at the end of the game.

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First Virginia in the Final Four and now this?

Auburn trailed by six with 30 seconds to play when Tigers guard Wendell Green Jr. drilled a three-pointer to make it 44-41. Suddenly, after looking like week-old donuts on offense for most of the game, Auburn was blinking “Fresh Hot Now” like Krispy Kreme. A steal and a tip-in by Auburn’s Johni Broome made it a one-point game after that, and so it came down to the final seconds.

Green elevated from the wing. Green was tackled by Tennessee’s Olivier Nkamhoua. Green missed. Game over.

OK, it wasn’t exactly a tackle, but that amount of contact is definitely getting a flag in football for running into the kicker.

SEC basketball officials have tough jobs, but the league should probably reach out to Pearl and apologize for that one. The Tigers battled for 40 minutes, and it came down to Nkamhoua’s tired legs carrying into Green on the final shot of the game. It was a foul. Everyone in the building knew it.

I’m not saying Auburn lost the game because of that one controversial play, but if Tennessee is down three at home in that scenario then the correct call probably would have been made.

Are some losses better than others in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee? Absolutely, and the loss by Auburn to Tennessee was a perfect example. Playing ugly is Auburn’s game this season, and the Tigers were there at the end against the No.2-team in the country.

Let’s not ignore the obvious, though. Auburn (17-6, 7-3 in the SEC) is going to need someone to make a couple shots over the next couple weeks for this team to feel comfortable about an at-large bid going into the SEC tournament. Auburn is currently ranked No.30 in NET, and that’s great, but the schedule is about to get tough. The Tigers are at Texas A&M on Tuesday (6 p.m.) and then host Alabama on Saturday (1 p.m.) in Neville Arena’s game of the season.

Auburn is 13th in the SEC in three-point shooting percentage at 28.8 percent. That wouldn’t even be a great batting average in baseball. Against Tennessee, the Tigers were 3 of 27 from distance. The officials can’t be blamed for Auburn’s poor aim.

In defense of that non-call, once you’ve seen 43 missed three-pointers in a game then they probably all start to look the same. Tennessee was 2 of 21 from beyond the arc.

OATS KEEPING FOCUS

Alabama coach Nate Oats scored a hefty contract extension on Friday, and then his team delivered win No.20 of the season on Saturday with a 79-69 victory against LSU. In so many ways, it has been a month like no other for Alabama basketball.

Former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder on Jan.15 after the shooting death in Tuscaloosa of 23-year-old Jamea Harris. Since that tragic day, Alabama has gone 5-1 and remained among the best teams in the country. The one loss was to Oklahoma, and Oats acknowledged then that the emotions of everything have been weighing on his team.

Alabama followed up the loss in Norman, Oklahoma, with a historic 101-44 victory against Vanderbilt.

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The Crimson Tide has now won at least 20 games in two of Oats’ first four seasons at Alabama. Alabama won 19 games last season, and had 26 victories on the way to the Sweet 16 in 2021. Over an eight-year college career, Oats has reached the 20-win mark five times over eight seasons. He was named SEC coach of the year in 2021, and that award means a little more because it was during the pandemic. For all the disruptions the pandemic presented for coaches, those challenges don’t compare to what Alabama has faced this season.

Next up for Alabama is a Wednesday night home game against Florida (8 p.m.) before that big trip to Auburn on Saturday. (1 p.m.)

BLAZERS FINDING BALANCE

After struggling without Jordan Walker for five games, UAB delivered its best victory of the season on Thursday when it knocked off No.19 FAU 86-77 at Bartow Arena.

Walker missed time after spraining his ankle at the end of UAB’s loss to Western Kentucky on Jan.11. The Blazers went 3-2 without Walker, losing back-to-back games to Middle Tennessee State and North Texas. Credit goes to coach Andy Kennedy for using the time with Walker out of the lineup to develop guard Eric Gaines.

An at-large bid is out of the question for UAB (17-7, 8-5 in CUSA), but hopefully the injury to Walker has helped UAB find some balance going into the final month of the regular season. Gaines led UAB with 21 points against FAU, and four Blazers finished with 12 points in Saturday’s 76-72 home win against FIU.

UAB is at North Texas on Thursday (7 p.m.) and plays MTSU at home on Saturday (3 p.m.).

WHAT I’M WATCHING

Keep an eye on Samford this week. The Bulldogs (16-9, 10-2 in the SoCon) are at Mercer on Wednesday (6 p.m.) and then at home against The Citadel on Saturday (2 p.m.). Samford is currently tied with Furman atop the SoCon standings, but the Paladins hold the tie-breaker after their 91-84 overtime victory against Samford on Jan.25.

Samford ends the regular season with a home game against Furman on Feb.25 (2 p.m.). The regular-season conference crown could come down to that game.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

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Auburn basketball vs. Texas A&M: Our scouting report, score prediction

 

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AUBURN — After Gonzaga lost at home to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19, Auburn basketball held the longest active home winning streak in the nation. Less than a week later, Texas A&M gave the Tigers a 16-point loss on the Neville Arena floor.

Now, it's time to see if Auburn can return the favor.

The Tigers travel to College Station for a matchup with the Aggies in Reed Arena on Tuesday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2). Auburn (17-6, 7-3 SEC) is coming off a gut-wrenching loss at Tennessee on Saturday that came down to the final shot and a controversial no-call. Texas A&M (16-7, 8-2) comes into the game after beating Georgia at home, 82-57.

With the win over the Bulldogs, the Aggies improved to 11-1 at home. They've won three of their past five, with the losses coming at Kentucky on Jan. 21 and at Arkansas on Jan. 31. Texas A&M had won seven straight before getting beaten by the Wildcats.

Here's a scouting report for Tuesday's game, and our score prediction.

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Defending Texas A&M's backcourt

With the exception of the game against Tennessee, all of Auburn's losses this season have featured an opposing guard scoring at least 26 points.

Against the Aggies, it was senior guard Tyrese Radford, who lit the Tigers up to the tune of 30 points thanks to strong perimeter shooting (3-for-7 on 3-pointers) and actively probing the defense, getting to the free-throw line 12 times and making 11. Sophomore Wade Taylor IV put up 15 points and connected on three 3-pointers.

It was an uncharacteristic performance from beyond the 3-point arc for the Aggies, who came into the Jan. 25 matchup shooting only 31.6% from long range. They made six of their 11 3-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes, which allowed their lead to balloon to 15 points by halftime.

Feast or famine

Auburn's offensive performances in the past two games have been polar opposites.

The Tigers scored a season-high 94 points in a thrashing of Georgia on Feb. 1. Four players had 13 or more points, and Johni Broome had a double-double by halftime. Against the Vols three days later, however, the Tigers tied their season low for points in a game with 43.

Auburn's offense usually goes as far as Broome and Wendell Green Jr. can take it. That duo shot 30% against Tennessee, but coach Bruce Pearl said postgame he should've gotten his big man more touches. Regardless, the Tigers need that pairing to excel.

K.D. Johnson's stretch

For the third consecutive game, junior guard K.D. Johnson scored in double figures. He dropped 10 against the Vols and converted on six of his eight free-throw attempts. His emergence has helped Auburn crush Georgia and go the distance with Tennessee and West Virginia on Jan. 28.

"K.D. is a great athlete," Pearl said after the loss to the Vols. "When you're playing the best teams on your schedule, you need his athleticism and his experience. His effort and his attitude have been really consistent. He's really, really trying, and that's great at this time of the year because he's definitely turning it on."

Score prediction

Auburn 79, Texas A&M 75: Green and Broome lead the Tigers to a bounce-back offensive performance against the Aggies. Auburn picks up an important win over one of the SEC's top teams before welcoming Alabama to Neville Arena on Feb. 11.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.