Bruce Pearl continues to collect a fair number of surprises from his young Auburn Tigers squad. Between the all-too late-game heroics of Jared Harper, the sudden arrival of Austin Wiley, or the recent dominating play of Mustapha Heron, one startling early-season trend has towered above the rest: Auburn’s 0-3 start in conference play.
Auburn was thoroughly handled in their road loss to Vanderbilt. Their pair of home conference contests, however, were tremendously winnable. Auburn blew a 12 point second-half lead to Georgia, and Ole Miss invaded Auburn Arena to douse a red-hot Jared Harper in the final moments of an 88-85 victory.
Bruce Pearl is not used to slow starts in his head coaching career. By his second season at the helm in Knoxville, Pearl led the Volunteers to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Pearl accomplished the same feat in his fourth season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Granted, Auburn is off to their best start since the 2002-03 season, hardly a disappointment. However, the sensation of a scorching 10-2 start has since screeched to a halt on the Plains.
Winless in the SEC no more, the Tigers of Auburn, without second leading-scorer Danjel Purifoy, bested the Tigers of Missouri in an ugly 77-72 victory on Tuesday night in Colombia, MO. Auburn’s win was their first ever against Missouri on the road.
Both Tiger squads flaunted cold and sloppy offense from the opening tip. Trading early leads, Auburn and Mizzou shot a collective 21% from the floor midway through the first half. Jared Harper and Horace Spencer powered the remnants of an Auburn offense in the first 20 minutes, with 7 and 6 points respectively.
“For Mizzou to have 25 offensive rebounds is impressive,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “It shows the effort they’re still getting.”
Pearl alludes to Missouri’s striking play on the boards. Missouri corralled 51 total rebounds, and 25 of those coming on the offensive end. Mizzou’s exertions on the glass was in the end outdone by the Auburn defense. The road warriors totaled 12 blocked shots to Missouri’s 3. Austin Wiley feasted, with 4 blocks, backed by Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemore’s posting 3 apiece.
Ronnie Johnson sustained his streak of productive bench play, finishing with 13 points and 4 assists. Johnson boasted Auburn’s primary free throw bright spot on a night where the Tigers in blue shot a season-low 54.5% at the charity stripe. The backup point guard converted 4 of 4.
“It’s a great survival game for us,” said Pearl. “11-5 is a lot better than 10-6, it equals our win total from last year. I think you have to find ways to win. The kids found a way tonight, which is huge.”
“We didn’t play very well tonight. I appreciate the effort of the guys tonight. It’s hard to deal with a bad locker room as a coach. I’ve got a great locker room with these guys, and it feels great to get a win.”
The way the two teams ebbed and flowed in the first half, all signs pointed to a gritty finish. Free throws almost doomed Auburn, with 55 combined fouls committed between the two teams. Missouri also shot poorly from the line. (69.7%) The Tigers combined for 29 turnovers, with Missouri finishing 32% from the field to Auburn’s 42%.
Mustapha Heron, who made his first shot with 9:44 to play after starting 0-9, directed the Tigers offense late. Heron hit a huge triple to break a tie with 2:12 left. On the next possession, Heron drilled a pull-up jumper as the shot clock expired to extend Auburn’s lead to 5. Heron’s jumper capped off 4 straight baskets by Auburn to steal momentum after Missouri tied the game at 66.
Heron polished off his hot finish by nailing both shots at the line with 21 seconds left, maintaining Auburn’s five-point lead. Heron led the Tigers to victory just a day after turning his ankle in practice. Bruce Pearl might have Heron’s father to thank for the victory in Columbia. Heron’s father insisted to Pearl that the freshman play, even if it required Mustapha to take some “pain pills and tough boy pills.”
Jordan Barnett dropped a career high 20 points for Missouri in the loss. Terrence Phillips provided an instant impact off the bench and down the stretch with 12 points. Missouri will head to Arkansas on Saturday, still seeking a conference win of their own.
Auburn has now matched its win total from the 2015-16 season, meaning it’s only uphill from here. However, the Tigers will find the sixth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats waiting at the top of that hill. Auburn faces their toughest test yet on Saturday, when they travel to Lexington to take on the SEC powerhouse. Kentucky looks to avenge their loss at Auburn Arena last season, which has since been dubbed Bruce Pearl’s signature win.
Past the daunting challenge of Big Blue Nation, Auburn’s remaining schedule allows for optimism for Tiger faithful. Back-to-back home games against LSU and Alabama provide a huge opportunity to close in on a winning record in the conference. Of Auburn’s remaining opponents past No. 6 Kentucky, only one team is currently ranked in the AP Top 25 (No. 23 Florida).
Analysts are still giving Auburn respectable chances to not only compete in the SEC, but possibly make the NCAA Tournament. It will take a photo finish by Auburn in conference play, however none of the fan base, coaching staff, nor hungry Auburn Tigers team is doubting their ability to stun the league in the second half of the season.
“This is a great win for us going into Kentucky,” said freshman guard Mustapha Heron. “We’re ready. We’re ready to go to Lexington.”
Tip-off in Lexington is set for 3 p.m. CST on ESPN.
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