Going into its first Sweet 16 match up since 2003, fifth-seeded Auburn knows it has a multitude of challenges to overcome if it hopes to seal a ticket to the Elite Eight.
The Tigers face off against 1-seed North Carolina on Friday, a team that Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl knows is one of the toughest teams to beat.
“Carolina is — they’ve been the No. 1 seed throughout the last four years and eight out of Roy (Williams') 16 years at North Carolina,” Pearl said. “So they’re on a great run right now. They’ve been in the Final Four more than any other program. They’ve been to the Elite Eight, I believe, 28 times ... That all said, North Carolina might be the best team left in the field.”
Two of the biggest challenges the Tigers face are their struggles with second-half defense in the tournament thus far, and the height differences between the two teams.
In Auburn’s last two tournaments games they gave up a combined 98 points in the second half. In the SEC Championship, the Tigers allowed Tennessee to score 41 points in the second half. The Volunteers had scored only 23 points in the first half.
Auburn’s game against Kansas caused more concern in that area after the Tigers went into halftime leading 51-25 but came back out in the second and allowed Kansas to score 50. Auburn came out with the 89-75 win, but that score does not match up with the dominance the Tigers showed during the first half of that game.
“Our second-half defense was not good in Utah in both games, and that’s going to have to change,” Pearl said. “If we could give up 98 points in the second half against New Mexico State and Kansas, then North Carolina can score 70.”
Auburn is well known as one of the smaller teams in the country. On the opposite end of the spectrum is North Carolina as one of the largest teams. UNC is not just big, though; Williams' Tar Heels can also keep pace with Pearl's Tigers in the open floor.
For the Tigers, who are known for their three point success, facing off against guards Coby White, who is 6-foot-5; Kenny Williams, 6-foot-4; and Cam Johnson at 6-foot-9 is a challenge for Jared Harper, who stands at 5-foot-11 and Bryce Brown at 6-foot-3.
“Kenny Williams is an elite defender,” Pearl said. "He’s either going to have Jared or Bryce. He can't guard them both, but he'll have one of them. Great length. Does a great job of taking charges. They will contest shots. That's one of the things they do defensively very well because of their length. So yeah, it'll be a great matchup of guards. Then you've got Cam Johnson at 6-9 who is a big guard, and he just shoots over the top of everybody.”
Another area the Tar Heels might have an advantage at due to height is the rebound game. Auburn already struggles in that area, and the way UNC plays on the inside adds another level to that challenge
“They’re plus-10.5 rebound margin,” Pearl said. “We’re about minus-3.5 rebound margin, for a difference of 14. Rebounding has been a problem for us all year—or it’s at least been a challenge.”
The Tigers know that changing their style is not the way to earn the win, however.
“I don’t have anymore confidence doing it the way we do it other than the fact you have to be who you are,” Pearl said. “You know, we’re not going to go crazy trying to run, but we’re not gonna not play the way we play—because I know we can’t beat them that way. Whether we can beat them the way we play them, I don’t know, and that’s why we’ll match up and see.”
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