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A spirit that is not afraid

Tigers looking to rebound from offensive struggles on the road

Auburn (15-2) returns home to face South Carolina (10-7) Wednesday night. The Gamecocks have beaten Clemson and Virginia on the road already this season, and are coming off a buzzer-beating win over Kentucky at home.

<p>Austin Wiley (50) attempts free throw during Auburn basketball at Alabama on Jan. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.&nbsp;</p>

Austin Wiley (50) attempts free throw during Auburn basketball at Alabama on Jan. 15, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

After a 15-0 start to the regular season, Auburn suffered back-to-back blowout losses at Alabama and Florida dropping the team 12 spots, to No. 16 in the latest AP poll.

The losses were largely due to the Tigers’ inability to score efficiently on the offensive end. Auburn was only able to shoot 31.7% from the field against Alabama and turned the ball over 21 times. The offensive struggles continued in Gainesville as the Tigers scored a season-low 47 points and were held without a field goal in the final 8:40 of the game.

Then No. 4, Auburn entered the matchup with Alabama as a top five 2-point shooting team in the country, but they finished 37% from 2-point range in Tuscaloosa. The following game, the Gators were also effective in defending the rim and used their size and physicality to stifle the Tigers’ inside game.

“Alabama built a wall, and got in front of us by taking charges,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. 

One of the things that has become apparent to coach Pearl and the Tigers is that teams around the SEC have been studying their game. 

“The scouting report is out,” said Pearl in his Tuesday press conference. “They know my tendencies, they know the players’ tendencies.” 

Pearl wants to see his players improvise when the plays break down. Over the last two games the offense for Auburn has lacked explosiveness, and that stems from the lack of playmaking leading to open shots. Auburn only had seven assists against Florida which could be a factor in why the Tigers could not find many open shots. 

“We need more assists, we need more playmaking, we need to get guys more shots,” Pearl said.

Although the Tigers’ offense was not exposed through the first 15 games, it has been clear all season that the team struggles to get out to hot starts in the first half. The Tigers went 6-of-29 from the field for a season-low 23 points in the first half at Florida.  Auburn has been able to overcome these slow starts in the past, but letting a talented defensive team such as Florida get out to a 9-0 lead was too much to recover from.

Pearl remains optimistic about the rest of the season ahead, and he believes they are coming off the best practice of the season. 

“We all still have confidence in each other, so we are just taking it one game at a time,” said Jamal Johnson.

Auburn (15-2) returns home to face South Carolina (10-7) Wednesday night. The Gamecocks have beaten Clemson and Virginia on the road already this season, and are coming off a buzzer-beating win over Kentucky at home.

“They always play very hard and they always play very physical,” Pearl said of the Gamecocks. 

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST in Auburn Arena and will be televised on ESPNU. 


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