2/23/23/ Auburn Articles

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 a better highlight reel.

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#PMARSHONAU: Auburn's 'best players' come through when it matters most

Phillip Marshall

3–4 minutes

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Auburn’s basketball team gave up 17 offensive rebounds and got just seven Wednesday against Ole Miss, which has won just two SEC games. Several opportunities to take control of the game were wasted. Ole Miss shot 32 free throws. But Auburn found a way to win a game it absolutely could not lose 78-74.

On rhe box score, Auburn won the game at the free-throw line, hitting 22-of-24 while Ole Miss was hitting 20-of-32, but Auburn coach Bruce Pearl had a simple explanation for what he called “a great win.”

“Our best players stepped up,” Pearl said on his postgame radio show. And those “best players” were point guard Wendell Green and center Johni Broome.

Green played at level as high as anyone could expect. He scored 23 points and was money at the free throw line, finishing 11-for-12. He had four assists, two steals and just two turnovers.

Broome was much of a man on the inside. He scored 19 points, got eight rebounds and swatted away six shots. He even made a 3-point shot.

Auburn led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but the Rebels were not going to go quietly. They went on a 15-2 run and took a 63-59 lead with 6:21 left. Enter Green and Brome and their friends. The Tigers started holding the Rebels to one shot. The turnovers that had been a problem in Ole Miss’ big run went away.

Green, at his best, is one of the top point guards in the SEC. Green, at his worst, can be maddening. But as Pearl said Wednesday night, winning without him would be a challenge, maybe an impossible challenge.

It seems that the later in the season it gets, the closer and more unpredictable games become. Vanderbilt had won six straight games and lost at LSU. Alabama barely survived in overtime at South Carolina. Ole Miss took Auburn to the wire. Missouri beat Mississippi State in overtime.

The regular season is down to three games. And Auburn’s three – at Kentucky, at Alabama and Tennessee at home - are brutally difficult. Auburn needs to win one of them to feel comfortable on selection Sunday.

Auburn has pushed the best teams in the SEC to the limit. Can it take the next step in at least one of those last three games?

2COMMENTS

Kentucky is on a roll again, and Auburn has long been cursed at Rupp Arena. Auburn would have a chance if Alabama plays like it did against South Carolina. But Alabama won’t play that way against Auburn. Tennessee, tied with Auburn for fourth place in the SEC standings, might actually be an underdog at Auburn Arena.

To win any of those games, the same players who were at their best when it mattered most against Ole Miss will need to do it again.

">247Sports

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5 takeaways from Auburn's 78-74 win over Ole Miss

Nathan King

7–8 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — It was a nauseating second half for the fans inside Neville Arena, but the Tigers pulled it out late in a complete can’t-lose game for their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Auburn overcame a lackluster night defensively and on the glass, and made enough plays late to fend off Ole Miss, 78-74 in the Tigers’ penultimate home game of the season.

Here are Auburn Undercover’s five takeaways, as the only games remaining for the Tigers in the regular season are opportunities for serious resume boosts.

Key stretch

Zep Jasper, Allen Flanigan and Johni Broome hit 3-pointers on back-to-back-to-back possessions early in the second half to push Auburn’s lead to 12 points, its largest of the night to that point.

But the air in Neville Arena was completely zapped after Ole Miss suddenly burst for a 15-2 run over four minutes, including a trio of fastbreak baskets, and Bruce Pearl called timeout after the Rebels took a 58-55 lead with just under 10 minutes to go

Auburn committed three turnovers during the run and missed five straight shots — going 3:27 of game time without a make — after it had made six of its previous seven field goals to take a double-digit lead.

Auburn continued to pile up turnovers, with six in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

A Tigers team that averaged just over 10 giveaways per game in SEC play had seven turnovers in the second half, including five during in less than six minutes while Ole Miss was climbing back.

"We were not executing offensively, we were sloppy, and they were aggressive," Pearl said of Auburn's turnovers during that stretch. "And they jumped back in the game. We weren't setting good screens, our timing was off, we were resting. We succumbed to fatigue, and that's how they got back in it with those turnovers. It was very poor and very lackadaisical offensive execution."

Auburn’s troubles staying in front of athletic scoring guards reared up again, as the Rebels’ Matthew Murrell was creating problems driving to the hoop. He had 23 after scoring 24 points in the first meeting, and was 9-of-12 from the foul line.

Green Jr. leads Auburn's closeout

Wendell Green Jr. had five straight points to reignite the energy inside Neville Arena and allow Auburn to retake the lead, 64-63 with 5:18 after an assist from Broome after an offensive rebound.

After Broome’s two straight baskets, Green Jr. rocketed coast-to-coast one more time, finishing an up-and-under layup to push the Tigers’ lead up to 70-64 with 3:14 remaining.

The Tigers led by 6 with 30 seconds left, but offensive rebounding kept Ole Miss in the game, though, after Robert Allen grabbed a missed 3-ball by Jaemyn Brakefield and kicked to James White, who canned a triple to make it 74-73 Auburn with 17 seconds remaining.

After two free throws from Green Jr., Pearl fouled up 3, sending Murrell back to the foul line when Ole Miss had zero timeouts left. It paid off, as Murrell went 1-of-2, and Green Jr. knocked down two more freebies.

"We ended up getting to the free-throw line a lot," Green Jr. said postgame. "That was the main thing coach told us — at the end of games, we've gotta stop fouling and get to the free-throw line more. Automatic two points. I think we improved on that. Hopefully we can keep improving on it down the road."

Green Jr. had a number of acrobatic finishes in traffic in the first half alone, and he paced Auburn’s 12 fastbreak points in the first 20 minutes. After a couple struggling offensive performances, the point guard had 23 points — the same total as he did in the first win over Ole Miss — on 6-of-12 shooting and 11-of-12 from the foul line.

"Just wanted to push the ball in transition," Green Jr. "I felt pretty — I felt pretty athletic today, running up and down the court. ... Just watching film on the Vanderbilt game, it's something I learned from the Vanderbilt game, just trying to get it up. And I feel I can get past anybody, so as long as I keep pushing the tempo like that, I think we'll get better shots on offense."

Broome down the stretch

Broome came up huge down the stretch, too, in all facets of the game. The big man, with another excellent performance (19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, six blocks and a steal), had five blocks for the rest of the game after the Rebels’ 15-2 run gave them the lead, and he snatched five rebounds in the final five minutes of action.

"I don’t know if they give a freshman of the year and a newcomer of the year, I think they might do both I don’t know," Pearl said. "But it’s hard to imagine that there’s a better newcomer than Johni in our league. He’s your stat sheet stuffer. I’m on him pretty good, but I’ve always been on my best players. Always. I coach him hard, he stepped up, made plays at the end, made a big three, made a big 15-footer, called his number and he delivered.”

Flanigan's impact

It wasn't a massive scoring night for Flanigan, but he had a number of important moments, separate even from his two thunderous dunks in transition.

The senior scored 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, and he corralled six rebounds, dished a team-high five assists and blocked a shot.

He also cashed a pair of late free throws that put Auburn up 72-67 with a minute left.

Standout stat

Auburn was bested on the boards, and it was nearly the Tigers' undoing against a far inferior Ole Miss squad.

The Rebels entered the game as one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the conference — and in the top 40 nationally in that department — and Ole Miss had eight offensive boards in the first half alone, leading to seven second-chance points — which helped to offset the Rebels’ seven turnovers.

Auburn trimmed the rebounding advantage down the stretch, though, helped in large part by Broome's five boards in the final five minutes.

Ole Miss finished with 17 offensive rebounds, the most allowed by Auburn all season. That led to 16 second-chance points for the Rebels, and Auburn was ultimately outrebounded 38-28. It's only the second win for Auburn this season when being outrebounded by double digits (Arkansas).

"They’re athletic, they’re strong," Pearl said. "But Kentucky is bigger, stronger and more athletic so we’re gonna be up there in Rupp against probably the biggest, best offensive rebounding team. We rebound like we did tonight we’ll get beat by 40."

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A look at Auburn’s KenPom ranking after defeat of Ole Miss

Taylor Jones

3–4 minutes

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Auburn improved its’ NCAA Tournament odds by defeating Ole Miss in a close game, 78-74, at Neville Arena on Wednesday.

The Tigers needed the win, as they entered the game losers of four of their last six games. The victory was also important in the name of momentum, as Auburn will need to play their best basketball against a tough upcoming slate of Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee, with the first two games of the slate taking place on the road.

How did Auburn’s win over Ole Miss affect their place in the KenPom rankings? The Tigers remain in the top-25 in two categories while staying a top-100 team in other slots.

Here’s a look at where Auburn stacks up in the latest KenPom rankings.

Overall Ranking: No. 22

Michael Chang/Getty Images

The Tigers remain in the top-25 following a four-point win over Ole Miss on Wednesday. Auburn is the fourth-highest rated SEC team in the latest update, trailing Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: No. 67

Michael Chang/Getty Images

Auburn checks in at No. 67 in adjusted offensive efficiency. According to KenPom data, the Tigers offense is projected to score 111.2 points per 100 possessions.

Gonzaga has the best adjusted offensive efficiency ranking, as they are projected to score 122.0 points per 100 possessions.

Adjusted defensive efficiency: No. 15

Jake Crandall/ The Montgomery Advertiser

The Tigers remain one of the best defensive teams in the country by checking in at No. 15. According to KenPom, Auburn is forecasted to allow 93.2 points to their opponents per 100 possessions.

Tennessee is the nation’s best team in adjusted defensive efficiency as their opponents are projected to score 86.2 points per 100 possessions.

Adjusted Tempo: No. 155

Jake Crandall/ The Montgomery Advertiser

Auburn is expected to create 68.1 possessions per game, which puts them at middle-of-the-pack in the NCAA. In Wednesday’s win over Ole Miss, Auburn had the ball 67 times, and scored on 35 of those possessions.

Long Beach State creates the most offensive opportunities in the country by posting 73.5 possessions per 40 minute contest.

Strength of Schedule: No. 42

Michael Chang/Getty Images

Auburn’s strength of schedule remains in the top-50 following Wednesday’s win, and is expected to become more challenging as the Tigers close the regular season with games at Kentucky, at Alabama, and vs. Tennessee, all three teams are ranked in the KenPom top-35.

Auburn’s opponents rank No. 49 in adjusted offensive efficiency, and No. 38 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Kansas has the toughest schedule in the nation while St. Francis (NY) has the easiest.

Kentucky ranking: No. 32

Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky defeated Florida on Wednesday, 82-74 in Gainesville. The Wildcats have now won three-straight games ahead of Saturday’s game with Auburn at Rupp Arena. Here’s a look at where Kentucky ranks in the KenPom following Wednesday’s action.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire