Although last night’s game ended well for Auburn, it wasn’t without tumult and physicality. The contest was full of heated moments and conflicts from both teams.
The game was a physical one, with Auburn fighting to stay ranked number one in the country and an unranked Oklahoma desperately trying to improve their tournament seeding as March Madness looms over the back half of the season.
The Tigers took advantage of the physical Oklahoma defense, drawing 23 fouls on the Sooners and shooting 33 free throws, 26 of which they made. Auburn played tough under the basket against a rough Sooner defense, finishing through contact and racking up 46 points in the paint. The Tigers also hit the boards hard, finishing the night with 38 rebounds to Oklahoma’s 28. This aggressive effort helped Auburn produce offensively throughout the game.
While college basketball is no stranger to physicality, this game went beyond the usual rough play. There were a total of four technical fouls given out, two for the Sooners and two for the Tigers, as well as a few small collisions away from the play that wasn’t called for a foul; however, Auburn managed to stay focused despite these challenges.
“(Coach told us to) just be ourselves. We know that every night in, night out, the SEC is gonna present us with a dog fight,” said forward Chris Moore. “So it's gonna get cheaper. It's gonna get a little bit overboard. But we know that we got to stay composed and stay the course and just play our own game.”
Particularly notable was the conflict between Chad Baker-Mazara and Jeremiah Fears that started with Fears getting in a sneaky elbow to Baker-Mazara’s ribs that eluded a foul call. From that point on, the feud only escalated until it finally boiled over in a tussle that resulted in technical fouls for both players. Auburn’s Miles Kelly and Oklahoma’s Jalon Moore also received technicals for unsportsmanlike conduct in separate incidents.
Despite the high physicality and numerous fouls, the only player to foul out was Baker-Mazara, although Tahaad Pettiford and Oklahoma’s Sam Godwin were on edge with four fouls apiece.
After another resounding conference win, the Tigers are resting and recuperating before their game on Saturday against Florida, which head coach Bruce Pearl says will be an even tougher game than Oklahoma physically.
“Some teams are going to bother other teams differently. I can tell you, Florida comes in on Saturday, and they are the most physical team in our league,” said Pearl. “You know, Todd Golden was my assistant. He played point guard for me in 2009 on the USA Maccabi team. And you know, I'm not sure he has to shave but once a week, but his teams play hard, tough, and physical. And so that's going to be the next challenge.”
Despite the challenging schedule imminent on the horizon, Tiger morale is high and the players are ready to play their best basketball going forward.
“We know that it's going to be a hard challenge every night, but it's going to feel good. We've been at it. We've been at it for a long time, and we know that we had it was a mental break for us for a long time.” said Moore. “We know we had to stay mentally tough, but now we kind of get a rest, you know, reset and get ready for a tough matchup Saturday.”
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Jackie is a freshman majoring in Drug and Biopharmaceutical Sciences. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2024.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @jackie_domingun
