Tuesday’s road matchup against Texas A&M painted a canvas that has become too familiar for Auburn. For the fifth time in its last six games against the Aggies, Auburn failed to defeat Texas A&M after an 83-78 loss.
"You score 78 on the road against a really good defensive team, it’s enough to win, but our second-half defense let us down,” said head coach Bruce Pearl.
The loss also marked Auburn’s second loss of the season to Texas A&M after the Aggies snapped Auburn's 28-game home winning streak in January which was the NCAA’s longest active win streak at the time.
Auburn opened the game hot as it jumped out to a 27-15 lead and had already connected on four 3-pointers. But after a double-technical foul on Auburn’s Wendell Green Jr. and Texas A&M’s Solomon Washington, the game became more physical, and Auburn began to lose its grip.
Allen Flanigan nailed Auburn’s fifth 3-pointer less than a minute later but was awarded a technical foul after blowing a kiss toward the Texas A&M bench. With the crowd provoked, Texas A&M finished the first half on a 15-4 run to give the Aggies a one-point lead heading into the break.
Pearl was certain after the game that the call against Flanigan flipped the momentum.
“It (the technical foul) absolutely did. Allen knocked down a three and did something. I thought he celebrated out there,” Peal said. “You’re allowed in the game to celebrate. I guess they also thought his celebration was unsportsmanlike.”
Auburn averages 21 free-throw attempts per game, good for 43rd in the nation, but on Tuesday, the Tigers did not get to the line like they usually do. Auburn shot just one free throw in the first half, and although it did a better job forcing contact and getting to the line in the second half, it still finished the game with just 14 free throws and nine makes — well under the Tigers’ average.
In comparison, the Aggies went to the line 39 times and made 31 of those attempts. In the second half alone, Texas A&M shot 27 free throws and made 24 of them to create an 89% free-throw percentage in the second half.
Pearl said after the game that there is no way to overcome a difference in free throws like the one he saw on the road Tuesday.
“You really can’t (overcome the discrepancy). You just got to do a better job of defending without fouling, but it’s really hard to overcome,” Pearl said.
Auburn had no way to stop Texas A&M’s Tyrece Radford in its last matchup as the senior scored 30 points last time against the Tigers. But as Auburn threw multiple double teams at Radford on Tuesday, the Tigers limited him to 10 points on just six shots.
However, it was a familiar name and a new name that punished Auburn the second time. Wade Taylor IV scored 22 points and recorded seven assists at home after dropping 15 points on the road against Auburn in the first game.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M big man Julius Marble scored a career-high 20 points and corralled seven rebounds and hit timely buckets late in the game against Auburn’s Johni Broome who was playing with four fouls.
Green Jr. led Auburn in scoring with 20 points while Broome recorded his eighth double-double of the season. Flanigan finished with 12 points after scoring 10 in the first half, and Jaylin Williams joined him with 12 points as well.
Auburn returns home Saturday as it hosts No. 3 Alabama in Neville Arena. ESPN’s College Gameday will be in town for the rivalry and the game will tip off at 1 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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Jacob is a sophomore from Leeds, Alabama. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @JacobWaters_
