Thanks to those who submitted questions for this week's Plainsman Mailbag. Submissions for next week's will open Sunday.
From @GarbageTime98 on Twitter:
1. How do you think Austin Wiley's return will affect Auburn's starting rotation and offense?
Wow, what a great question, Joshua.
And as much as I'd like to answer it myself, I do believe The Plainsman ran a story on this question not long ago.
In my opinion, we'll see small doses of Wiley tonight as to not interrupt the offensive flow. He'll have to slowly work his way back into things, which will be smoother when he's the starter, I think.
His impact will be felt mostly on the defensive end against Washington's bigger frontcourt. But don't take it from me. Sports writer Bryce Johnson did a piece on this exact question:
Sliding a player of Wiley’s caliber back into the starting lineup after capturing a regular season SEC title is no small task, especially when the second and third highest scorers on the team come back for another year. Not to mention head coach Bruce Pearl isn’t known for catering towards his big men.
“I’m traditionally more comfortable with small ball,” Pearl said. “Yet I had a team that got one game from the Final Four at Tennessee and it was the biggest team I had. It was the team that was traditionally built. I know we can play both.”
Small ball is an understatement. Last year, Auburn was the smallest team in the SEC with an average height of 6-4 and was the only team to not have one player above 6-9.
Being so small, the Tigers were able to increase the possessions by running their opponents off the floor. This has been a staple throughout Pearl’s time at Auburn and he isn’t worried about Wiley keeping up.
"Austin is such a good athlete,” Pearl said. “We won’t have to slow down.”
The biggest change in the Tigers offense will come from the decrease in pick-and-pops with Wiley on the floor. Last year, Pearl loved to have his bigs set a screen on the ball then drift to the 3-point line for a three.
This strategy effectively made the opposition stretch their defense wider, creating wide-open driving lanes. Desean Murray, Anfernee McLemore and Chuma Okeke all had minutes at center during Wiley’s absence and all shot over 30 percent from downtown, leading to Auburn's No. 23 rank in 3-point attempts.
Wiley has never been a 3-point shooter. He’s never even attempted a three in his collegiate career. Everything about the center from Hoover screams traditional big man, which, in a perfect world, will balance out the offense immensely.
Auburn will be able to give the ball to Wiley on the low block and surround him with shooters so he can dish it out for an open three in case he gets doubled. If not, he’s a talented scorer who is efficient at getting to the line, so a one-on-one matchup close to the basket is favorable. Auburn could use the rise in field goal percentage.
Wiley is to Auburn what Clint Cappella is for the Houston Rockets. Pearl stresses for his team to get threes and dunks, which is on par with what coach Mike D’antoni implements for the Rockets.
Both coaches rely on screens heavily to get them too. The attention that Wiley will draw from the defense by setting a screen will open things up for guards Jared Harper and Bryce Brown, leading to easier drives to the basket or open corner-three assists.
Wiley will also add a much-needed rebounding presence to one of the worst rebounding teams in college basketball last season. The inability to keep the other team from getting offensive rebounds was an Achilles' heel for the Tigers, along with turnovers.
Auburn averaged 15 turnovers a game last year, putting it as the 103rd-worst team in terms of holding on to the ball. According to Pearl, that number could potentially rise with Wiley on the court.
“Right now we’re turning the ball over more than what I would I like to,” Pearl said. “With a better inside game with Austin Wiley and being a little more traditionally big you’re going to turn it over a little bit more, not only trying to get it there but once you get it there. We’ve got to take advantage of our size on the inside without turning the basketball over.”
If the Tigers can limit the turnovers, look for the team to build on what it accomplished last year, this time with Wiley at the helm.
From @gabe_keeter on Twitter:
2. Is the Auburn running game needed to pull off the upset or can the defense keep it close until the end without an effective running game like against TAMU?
Unfortunately for the current state of Auburn's offense, the run game is extremely necessary.
Each time Jarrett Stidham has been forced into 45 or more pass attempts against an FBS foe in his Auburn career, he's lost.
And Georgia is coming off holding Kentucky star running back Benny Snell to his worst performance of the season; Snell is far and away more talented than any healthy back the Tigers will deploy in Athens.
Gus Malzahn said this week that every injured Tiger practiced this week. We've heard that before with Whitlow, who has been "healthy" against Tennessee and Texas A&M. He might not be of much use.
In terms of the defense, Auburn certainly has the talent to keep it close. That's what happened in each of Auburn's last two losses to the Bulldogs. Problem was, they didn't have the offensive firepower late to be able to put anything on the scoreboard.
Stidham still needs a coming out party this season. While it's unlikely it would happen against a dominant Georgia defense at night and on the road, we've seen crazier things in this rivalry. But for now, this offense doesn't leave much room for optimism.
From @JoshFisherPhoto on Twitter:
3. Will Greene be able to fix the Georgia-Bama issue?
We now know that he and Malzahn definitely want to.
Malzahn said Tuesday that he would like to split Georgia and Alabama home and away each year. Greene then mentioned that the SEC Spring Meetings will be a good time to sit down with some conference executives.
I'm no expert on SEC legalities, but considering both Greene and Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity are both on both on board with the plan, those two should be the key pieces to finally getting some serious talks off the ground.
From @lilygjack in person:
4. What are three things Auburn needs to do to win?
No. 1: Be aggressive.
Last week, at times, Auburn simply played a different brand of football. Not only did the Tigers utilize a pair of trick plays to beat Texas A&M, but the late deficit also required its offense to run the 2-minute drill twice, both times without substiuting.
And the players loved it.
Postgame, Auburn's offensive weapons said that's the style of offense they enjoy playing the most. It certainly paid off for Jarrett Stidham, who competed eight of his final nine passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.
So why not just do that again? When asked about his success without substiuting, Malzahn said he'll have to take what Georgia's defense gives him.
Why? In a game where your season is already gone in terms of championship aspirations, why not throw everything but the kitchen sink in hopes of spoiling one of your rivals' Playoff hopes?
So, to me, if Malzahn remains stubborn and sticks to the same unsuccessful gameplan on offense, it's going to be a long night in Athens.
No. 2: Slow down Georgia's running backs.
Auburn probably thought it was done with a Georgia tailback tandem for a while.
Now without Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, the Bulldogs reloaded with D'Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield. The two combined for 271 rushing yards and three scores last week against Kentucky's vaunted defense.
Auburn let Texas A&M's Trayveon Williams run all over them last week.
Led by Deshaun Davis and Darrell Williams in the middle, Auburn will have to find a way to stuff the run and make UGA quarterback Jake Fromm beat them through the air, because Georgia is 21-0 over the last two seasons when it goes for 150-plus rushing yards.
No. 3: Turn over Fromm.
Auburn beat its interception mark from last year by Week 5 of this season thanks to a more opportunistic and explosive defense.
A pick-6 or two of Fromm is necessary for the win. Auburn has shown it can't score in Athens over the last 10 years, so a defensive or special teams play will need to be the difference.
From @auburntigers100 on Twitter:
5. Score prediction?
Barring any craziness in the aforementioned turnover or special teams game, Georgia should be able to cover.
The Bulldogs offense is hitting its stride at the right time against an Auburn front seven that has struggled against the run in big spots this season. I do think the Tigers' defensive line can get after Fromm, but he's not going to be their main source of offense.
For Stidham and the Auburn offense, there's not much reason to believe they can skyrocket over their SEC scoring average of 24.5, especially in the night atmosphere in Athens.
Prediction: Georgia 36, Auburn 20.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
