Well, that is not the first half that Auburn needed after a week off.
Rust didn’t seem to be a problem when Auburn started the first few minutes of the matchup against LSU as the Tigers jumped out to a five-point lead but that didn’t last as the Bayou Bengals got their feet underneath them and started dominating.
The Tigers have fought back a bit and trail by a 16-point deficit for Bruce Pearl’s side at the half.
Here are some reactions from the first 20 minutes:
- Sharife Cooper is having trouble against these taller and longer teams such as LSU and Kentucky. He started to get things going with drives to the basket in the second part of the half, though. He leads the Tigers with — points.
- Oh, and Sharife? He has ZERO assists so far.
- Cooper might be the most talked about freshman in the SEC but Cam Thomas is the best of all of them. He had his way with Auburn defenders int he first half, scoring 13 points in the first half.
- The Tigers are getting absolutely bullied down low by LSU and its not even close.
- You either get bad Allen Flanigan or the good Allen Flanigan and so far today it has been the latter. He needs to become more consistent if he wants to be counted on.
- I tweeted about this but a reminder that Will Wade has not had to sit out a game by NCAA rules despite everything he has been caught on tape saying yet Cooper was forced to miss the first 11 games of the season. NCAA at its best!
- I’m not going to harp on it but this team has no idea to rebound. It is laughable at this point.
- Ummmm …. let’s see. How about that pick up of 4-star defensive end Dylan Brooks today!!!! That was great, wasn’t it? Really helped the 2021 signing class rise up in the rankings.
- Back to basketball and as good as JT Thor looked offensively against Kentucky, he hasn’t found that touch yet in this game.
- Speaking of touch, Dylan Cardwell’s hands continue to be a problem inside. It seems he doesn’t have the confidence in catching a pass without overthinking it. That’s just my view of it, though. What I’m saying is I don’t think he will be a tight end on the football team anytime soon. Still love his heart and hustle.
- I think what coaches have learned from this season is that wearing a suit during games on the sideline is absolutely unnecessary. Maybe Bob Huggins was right all along with his fashion sense, though I wouldn’t recommend a sweater either.