It was not always pretty, but Auburn grinded its way to a 67-59 win over South Florida Friday night led by Wendell Green Jr.’s 20 points and senior Allen Flanigan’s 18 points.
While the duo’s offensive scoring was a positive for Auburn, the Tigers had to overcome numerous first-half negatives to grab the win.
It took over seven minutes for Auburn to make its first shot of the game. The first field goal came from a Flanigan triple, but Auburn went on another drought without a field goal shortly after – this one for four minutes which was also broken by a Flanigan three pointer.
Flanigan’s timely buckets were crucial for the Tigers, and his 20 points were more than any number of points he totaled in a game last year.
“It felt good just being able to go out there and see the rim again, see the goal, see shots falling,” Flanigan said. “So, it was a blast.”
Through the first 20 minutes of play, Auburn recorded more turnovers (11) than made field goals (six). The Tigers also shot a measly 14% from three in the first half and connected on just 7-of-13 free throws.
The scoring droughts plus the turnover problems put Auburn found itself in familiar territory. Auburn faced South Florida in Tampa, Fla. last season where it trailed by seven at halftime and by 15 in the first half.
In the rematch, Auburn trailed by nine at halftime which also marked USF’s largest lead of the game.
“Eerily similar to last year,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “I knew South Florida would do a good job of guarding us. I knew that they’d do a good job of their preparation and their scout.”
But similar to last season, Auburn showed no panic and rode a strong second-half performance to scrape by the Bulls.
The Tigers completely flipped their shooting percentage around in the second half — shooting 53.6% from the field. Auburn shot 13-of-19 from the free-throw line in the second half which only equals 68.4% but many of those makes, including six from Green Jr., came in the final minute of the game to secure a win for the Tigers.
The offensive outburst from Green Jr. and Flanigan was crucial for Auburn as many Tigers could not get their shots to fall. Zep Jasper, Johni Broome and K.D. Johnson did not record a single basket in the win. The trio combined for an 0-for-14 shooting night and turned the ball over five times.
While the shooting percentage improved, Auburn still turned the ball over nine times in the second half and shot poorly again from deep with only three makes beyond the three-point line.
Between Auburn’s win against USF and its home-opener against George Mason, Auburn is shooting 9-for-50 from three-point range this season.
“Right now we’re not really good offensively,” Pearl said. “Our defense is gonna have to carry us, and it did tonight.”
Auburn’s defense held USF to just 59 points, and the Tigers turned the Bulls over 17 times and held USF to just two three-point makes.
“Our defense stepped up,” Green Jr. said. “Our defensive energy stepped up a lot, and that led to offense. We scored in transition more… so I think our defense was the main thing that picked up.”
Auburn center Dylan Cardwell rejected five shots for the second straight game, and Auburn recorded more than 10 steals for the second consecutive game as well.
Cardwell left the game grasping his leg, but Pearl said he thinks “it was just a cramp.”
Auburn eyes its potential third win of the season as it faces Winthrop at home on Tuesday in its next game. The matchup tips-off at 6 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on SEC Network.
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Jacob is a sophomore from Leeds, Alabama. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @JacobWaters_
