It was much of the same Wednesday night against Georgia for No. 13 Auburn.
For the second straight game the Tigers were without their star freshman Isaac Okoro (hamstring), and they lost for the second straight game, falling to the Bulldogs 65-55.
"I absolutely don't believe in throwing anyone under the bus other than myself," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said postgame on AU radio. "So let's just say I've not been able to find guys behind Isaac (Okoro) that can come in and play his position and, you know, step up."
Three-point shooting remained an issue for the Tigers, as they shot just 4-of-26 (15%) from deep after shooting 1-of-17 against Mizzou.
Three of the four shots came from J’Von McCormick while Samir Doughty had one.
The Tigers fell behind early in the first half, trailing by seven but jumped out to a 23-22 lead courtesy of a 9-0 run from McCormick.
That lead didn’t last for long, though, as Georgia responded with a 9-0 run of its own to regain the lead. Wiley got a bucket and the Tigers trailed by six at halftime.
Coming out of the half, Georgia remained hot and never lost the lead. Auburn pulled within three, but was never able to get any closer.
“I thought Georgia played well,” Pearl said. “I thought Tom (Crean) got them prepared. I thought they had great balance. I thought they had a good defensive gameplan.”
“You look at our numbers they held us to 31% shooting. Did a good job of not fouling so we shot 47 free throws at Missouri in a loss and tonight we shot 13.”
McCormick was the top scorer for the Tigers, finishing with 22 points.
"Obviously J’Von McCormick was terrific,” Pearl said. “He obviously played hard and played effectively offensively, just did not give him enough help.”
Wiley has been on a tear recently, coming into the game with three straight double-doubles, averaging 16.7 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game. Against the Bulldogs, Wiley was one of only three Tigers to score in double-digits, with 11 points and nine rebounds.
"He didn't do a very good job of finishing as well as he could have," Pearl said of Wiley. "He needed to be dominant. He was good in there, but he wasn't dominant."
Outside of Wiley, Doughty and McCormick, all other Tigers combined to score seven points on 2-of-22 shooting.
Only two points came from the bench, as it combined to shoot 1-of-9, with the only bucket coming from Devan Cambridge.
With Okoro dealing with his hamstring injury, freshman Jaylin Williams received significant playing time for the first time this season. While Williams didn’t score, he had six rebounds, an assist and a steal while being plus-4 during his time on the court.
“I thought Jaylin Williams, coming in and playing the most he’s played all season long, again just trying to find a way at the three and the four position just trying to find a way to make up for Isaac Okoro who I think is as good as any player in our league,” Pearl said.
Auburn’s last two-game road trip against Alabama and Florida ended with two losses and that is the same for the two game stretch against Mizzou and Georgia.
Hopes of a regular season SEC title continue to slip as Auburn is now tied for second with LSU and Florida while trailing Kentucky by two games.
“Disappointed in the way the game ended. Just because 10 points on the road make a difference in terms of the net rankings are concerned so from that standpoint that hurts us,” Pearl said.
Following the loss, Auburn will return home to take on Tennessee at 11 a.m. CST on Saturday.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
