Midway through the second half of its game against Alabama, it looked as if Auburn was finally going to earn the signature win it had searched for all season. Instead, the game ended in another heartbreak for the Tigers, as they lost 90-85 to the No. 2 Crimson Tide in overtime.
“Boy, these kids have been through an awful lot,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “To come in here and play the best team in the country and play so well, play so hard.”
A 17-point lead was not enough to withstand the late surge by Alabama, who closed regulation on a 26-9 run, aided by Auburn miscues and foul trouble. The Tigers led for 36:53 of the 45-minute game, but could not close the deal, dropping their record to 2-9 in Quad 1 games.
The game brought a 3-point consistency the likes of which Auburn has not seen much of this season. In the first 20 minutes, the Tigers made six of their eight 3-pointers, a clip of 75%.
Though the Tigers shot 6-of-12, or 50% in the final 25 minutes, their 3-point percentage finished at 60%. Seven of Auburn’s 12 made 3-pointers were shot by either K.D. Johnson or Allen Flanigan.
Alabama, the nation's ninth-rated team in 3-pointers per game, shot just 8-of-31 from behind the arc during the game, a clip of 25.8%.
Despite the successful night shooting for Auburn, the Tigers struggled with turnovers, especially during Alabama’s second-half rally. The Tigers turned the ball over 18 times, resulting in 18 Alabama points. Seven of Auburn’s turnovers came in the second half, resulting in 12 points for Alabama.
Bench production was a significant strength for the Tigers in the game. Johnson scored a team-high 21, while Tre Donaldson added seven. The bench finished with 34 points.
“I thought the bench was terrific,” Pearl said. “I though Tre Donaldson stepped up and played with a lot of confidence. K.D. Johnson is an athlete that is hard to stay in front of. He, obviously, was 4-for-5 from three and was pretty effective.”
Four Tigers reached double figures: Johnson, Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome. The problem: all but Johnson finished the game on the bench with five fouls.
Of Auburn's four leading scorers, three were forced to play limited minutes, as Flanigan played 30 minutes, Williams played 27 and Broome played just 24. A combined 42 points for the Tigers fouled out of the game. Broome and Williams were the only two Auburn players to finish with a positive plus/minus differential. The Tigers were unable to overcome the lost production late in the game.
"(Broome's) our starting center," Pearl said. "Probably shoots the fewest number of free throws of any center in the league — and he's in foul trouble every game."
Broome fouled out with 7:27 to go, causing problems for Auburn on the interior. The loss of Dylan Cardwell to injury with 2:02 to play in overtime made matters worse. The Tigers surrendered 13 offensive rebounds and gave up 14 second-chance points.
“My starting frontline fouls out,” Pearl said. “Johni Broome fouls out with like ten minutes left to go in the game. He was plus-10 on the night. And then Dylan Cardwell goes down with an ankle; my most physical player. So, we were just incredibly outnumbered there at the end.”
Auburn was called for 29 fouls, Alabama was whistled for 20. Alabama forward Brandon Miller went to the free-throw line 11 times, making 10 of his attempts. Johnson attempted 12 free throws for Auburn, making seven. The teams combined for 49 fouls and 55 free-throw attempts.
The Tigers have one more chance at that signature win in the final game of the regular season. Auburn will return home on Saturday to face No. 12 Tennessee, who beat the Tigers 46-43 in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb. 4. The game will bear significance for Auburn’s NCAA Tournament hopes, as the Tigers rest firmly on the tournament bubble.
“Look, we’re probably going to move closer to the edge (of the tournament bubble),” Pearl said. “I just don’t know how they’re going to respond — who we play and how well we played, it does matter in the NET (rankings). It didn’t used to quite matter as much. A team that can come here and give them the best game they’ve had all year here, that’s a pretty good team.
The senior day game between the Tigers and Volunteers will tip-off at 1 p.m. CST for a national broadcast on ESPN.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
