The Auburn Tigers took a haymaker in the first half, but responded in the second.
The No. 16 Tigers (18-4, 7-2 SEC) maintain a tie of second place in the SEC standings following their 91-77 win over the Ole Miss Rebels (18-4, 5-4 SEC). The Tigers found themselves down nine at halftime, but managed to pull out the victory.
Here are takeaways from the win.
A second-half explosion
Auburn trailed Ole Miss 44-33 following a lackluster first-half performance. Ole Miss hit six threes, four of which came from Matthew Murrell (2-of-3) and Brandon Murray (2-of-3). The Rebels hit 17 field goals overall and earned their nine-point advantage heading to the locker room. Six Auburn players had a plus/minus of -4 or worse. The Tigers shot sub-40% from the field and coughed up eight turnovers.
It went about as poorly as it could have, and yet Auburn was still in the game.
“I went in at half time and told the guys Ole Miss played great,” Bruce Pearl said postgame. “They probably won’t play that well again.”
Much like their road trip to Alabama, the Tigers rallied in the second half – but managed to come out on top with the victory this time. Auburn shot a blistering 73.3% from the floor in the second half, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Auburn focused on controlling things at the rim – collecting 32 of their 58 second-half points in the paint – and in the process finished the final 20 minutes of the game averaging 1.697 points per possession.
They rebounded, the got to the rim, and they scored. Auburn had as many turnovers (3) as they did blocks or steals (3 apiece).
Johni Broome woke up like this
Broome continues to provide major boosts in halves of play. In the first half, Broome went 0-of-4 from the field… and then 7-of-9 in the second. His 15 total points for the game marked his 13th-straight contest scoring at least 10 points, dating all the way back to December 13th against UNC Asheville.
“Even though he didn’t score in the first half and got in foul trouble, his demeanor, his body language, the way he was in the huddle, there was no panic. I think some of the guys fed off of that,” Bruce Pearl said.
When Auburn needs a bucket down low, they’ve been able to go to Broome reliably all season long. Also credit Broome for finishing the game with three blocks and a number of strong contests at the rim. He finished the game with a defensive rating of 146.1, the second-best out of Auburn’s entire rotation (backup center Dylan Cardwell finished with a 132.1 defensive rating).
A rotation of closers
Auburn’s depth has provided opportunities to either blow games wide open, keep them close, or create rallies when falling behind.
Once the Tigers got the lead, they held on, leading for the final 12 minutes of the game. They leaned on the Rebels and finished the final four minutes of the game strong with two double-digit scorers off of the bench.
Chad Baker-Mazara and KD Johnson poured in 15 and 11 points respectively. Baker-Mazara snagged nine rebounds, Johnson dished out three assists, and both had monster dunks as time wound down. According to Bruce Pearl, both of them missed practice this week with strep throat.
The pair also had two of the best individual game scores for the Tigers and an average efficiency of 19.
Final notes
- – The Tigers jumped from No. 21 to No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom following tonight’s win.
- – Johni Broome has risen to No. 3 in the KenPom Player of the Year race.
- – Broome finished the second half with a plus/minus of +25 – +15 higher than his season average
- – Former Auburn Tiger Allen Flanigan posted 20 points and five rebounds for the Rebels
- – Jaylin Williams lead the Tigers in scoring with 16 points
- – Denver Jones continues his hot shooting, going 10-of-19 over his last two games (6-of-13 3PT)
You can listen to our reactions and more on the The War Rapport’s YouTube channel.