Poor shooting resulted in the seventh straight loss for the men's basketball team Saturday, March 2, as they were defeated at home by Vanderbilt 62-55.
The Tigers may have lost by only seven points, but it was all Vanderbilt Saturday night in the Auburn Arena. Offense once again proved to be costly as the Tiger's 20-of-56 from the field resulted in one of the lowest scoring games of the season for Auburn.
"I saw a lot of wide open shots, I saw a lot of point-blank shots at the rim. I saw a lot of wide-open three's," said head coach Tony Barbee. "You're not going to win many games in this league shooting 35 percent."
A lack of confidence by the players after losing 13 of the last 14 games resulted in the loss according to head coach Tony Barbee.
"You have to have confidence as a player. This game is about confidence," said Barbee. "We got guys that are working hard, but when you step on the floor you have to believe."
The Tigers looked like they could make it a close game in the final few minutes, but missed free throws and defensive fouls solidified the win for Vanderbilt. Auburn also shot only 16.7 percent from three-point range.
Chris Denson provided a spark for the Tigers early in the second half with an alley-oop from Frankie Sullivan. Immediately after, Denson hit only his seventh three-pointer of the season cutting Vanderbilt's lead to 4. The junior guard finished the game with a team-high 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
"I tried to do my duty today and bring out a spark," said Denson. "I think I played with a lot of confidence. We need to come out in the second half and play with confidence."
On the night, Sullivan struggled with four personal fouls and only seven points from 2-of-9 shooting for the Tigers.
"It's just been a steady progression of a lack of confidence which is something Frankie's never lacked before," said Barbee. "He's a guy who believes in himself and I believe in him and he's just a guy who needs to make it happen when he gets on the floor."
The game took an all too familiar turn when the Tiger's defense started to break down in the second half after offensive production and shooting continued to falter for Auburn.
Spanning across the halftime mark, Auburn failed to make a field goal in 13:49 of playing time, missing 18 straight shots. During that span, Vanderbilt had a 20-to-1 scoring run capitalizing on Auburn's poor shooting.
Auburn had good looks in the first half, but was unable to find the bottom of the net on multiple occasions. Great passing went nowhere as players missed wide-open shots across the floor.
The Tigers began shooting 4-of-6 in the first few minutes of the game, but then faltered finishing the half 7-27 from the field. Auburn failed to make a field goal in the last 9:52 of the first half and was a dismal 1-of-9 from three-point range.
Vanderbilt guard Kendren Johnson had a team-high 16 points on only 2-of-11 shooting from the field, both of which were three-pointers. Johnson's other 10 points came from his 10-for-15 shototing from the free-throw line.
Commodore guard Kevin Bright provided 14 points for the team off of his 4-of-5 shooting from behind the arc, helping to hold the lead throughout the second half for Vanderbilt.
The Tigers look to break their losing streak Wednesday, March 6 at home against Tennesee at 8 p.m.
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