The No. 2 Auburn Tigers overcame a sluggish start on Monday night against Monmouth, returning to action after an eight-day break following their decisive win over then-No. 16 Purdue, and it was strong defensive play that fueled the Tigers performance.
Coming into the game as the nation's ninth leading scorer at 21.6 points per game, Abdi Bashir Jr. was held to his third lowest scoring outing (15) of the season against the Tigers, and it was Chad Baker-Mazara who took the challenge of guarding him from the start.
“I mean, we had a plan about doubling him (Bashir Jr.), but then I told coach, personally, that I wanted him. I wanted that challenge. And the rest is history,” Baker-Mazara said.
Bashir Jr. came into the game with two 30-point performances – 38 against Rutgers – and six additional games of at least 20 points this season. His average of four 3-pointers per game ranked second nationally, and the Tigers held him to just two makes from beyond the arc. Additionally, five of his 15 points came from the charity stripe.
“First of all, our guys respected him. Second of all, we've got some pretty good individual defenders. We did have a game plan of doubling him a little bit. We didn't have to, because of the percentage,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “Chad Baker probably guarded him as well as he'll be guarded all year long. And I don't know whether Abdi said that, but if you asked him that question, if he got in front of the media, I think he would come close to giving that answer.
“We, defensively, do a lot of switching, but there were times Chad was able to really make it difficult for him to catch the ball and – look, Chad Baker is a special player and he impacts the game at both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively.”
Though Monday night's defensive performance from the Tigers’ frontcourt was impressive, it wasn’t the first time this season Auburn has lived up to the challenge of defending some of the nation’s most prolific guards. The Tigers held preseason Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, Braden Smith, to just eight points on 3-of-12 shooting along with Houston’s Milos Uzan (10 points), Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey (six points), Memphis’ Tyrese Hunter (11 points), Duke’s Tyrese Proctor (12 points) and Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton (three points).
Monmouth got out to an early 13-9 lead behind three 3-pointers from three players – Jaret Valencia, Madison Durr and Jack Collins. Meanwhile, Auburn was shooting just 30 percent from the field, starting just 3-of-12.
After a Denver Jones transition 3-pointer and a Johni Broome and-one, the Tigers saw their lead grow to four points, and the defense – along with Chaney Johnson who went on a 10-0 run of his own – took over in the last six minutes of play in the first half.
“He did great. Yeah, he came in. He played great. And I complimented him at halftime for really not having a very good first rotation, and then coming back and playing great,” Pearl said. “Part of it is taking all this time off and things along those lines. Athletically, physically, I have high expectations, obviously, for Chaney. So, when Chaney plays well, I'm not impressed, because that's what I expect him to do.”
The Tigers saw the first half close on an 18-0 run in which they held the Hawks scoreless for the last 6:32 of the half while forcing four turnovers during that same stretch. Auburn ended the night forcing 11 Monmouth turnovers which resulted in 20 points on the other end of the floor for the Tigers.
With that, Auburn cruised to another dominating win in non-conference play, giving it the best winning percentage in the SEC over the last nine seasons and 60-straight wins at home against non-conference opponents. Though, things are just getting started for Pearl and the Tigers with SEC play on the horizon.
“Now we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball,” Pearl said. “There’s maybe never been a league like this. The strong literally are going to be the only ones who are going to survive. Hungry, healthy and humble is the way to get through it.”
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.
Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler
