Tag: Aden Holloway

Recap: Auburn blows out UNC Asheville in Rocket City Classic

The Auburn Tigers have themselves a new win streak. Auburn won its second game in a row Wednesday night, taking down UNC Asheville 87-62.

The Auburn Tigers improved to 7-2 on the young season on Wednesday, defeating 2022 NCAA Tournament team UNC Asheville by 87-62 in Huntsville, Alabama.

It was another great offensive night for the Tigers, as Auburn shot an impressive 53% from the field. [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s team has now scored 191 points over their last two games.

Perhaps the most reaffirming aspect of the night came in the second half, where Auburn has struggled to put the “petal to the metal” against weaker competition.

That didn’t happen tonight. The Tigers scored 48 points in the final 20 minutes, receiving major contributions from forward [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag].

Donaldson ended up leading all Auburn players in scoring with 15 points in the game. Baker-Mazara was the only other Tiger in double figures on a night where sharing was caring with the basketball.

[autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag], [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], and [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] all contributed multiple made field goals.

2022 Big South Male Athlete of the Year Drew Pember paced both teams in scoring with 23 points.

Pember is a great player who will be playing at the professional level, but his fellow Bulldogs simply weren’t good enough tonight to keep up with a consistent Auburn attack.

UNC Ashville was able to shoot a very-solid 45% from the field, but a 9/18 mark from the free throw line and 13 turnovers doomed the Big South favorites.

As long as Pember is healthy, the Bulldogs will have a chance to get back to the NCAA Tournament this season as Big South Champions.

As for Auburn, the Tigers now sit at 7-2 ahead of a huge showdown against Isiah Collier and the newly-healthy Bronny James on Sunday as USC visits Neville Arena for a noon CT tipoff.

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4-star PG Jeremiah Green is a fan of Auburn’s play style

Auburn is firmly in the mix for Jeremiah Green, one of the top point guards in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

[autotag]Jeremiah Green[/autotag] is one of the best point guards in the 2025 recruiting cycle and a major target for [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and Auburn. The Tigers hosted the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder on an official visit back in September and it’s safe to say he liked what he saw.

“I thought Auburn was great too,” he told On3’s Joe Tipton. “It’s kind of like A&M, really family. I talked to coach (Bruce) Pearl a lot. Just the way they play with their guards, like the past guards — [autotag]Sharife Cooper[/autotag], [autotag]Jared Harper[/autotag], and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] now. Their play style I really like. The area was a great too.”

Green is the No. 57 overall player and No. 8 point guard in the On3 Industry Ranking. The Denton, Texas native recently transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy and is now the No. 1 player from Kansas.

Auburn is not the only school pursuing the talented guard with him also visiting Texas A&M, Houston, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

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Jaylin Williams, Aden Holloway win SEC Player of the Week honors

Jaylin Williams and AdenHolloway were honored by the SEC after dominating Indiana.

Following dominant performances against Indiana, [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag]  have both won the SEC’s Player of the Week awards.

Williams was named the conferences Player of the Week for the first time in his career. The senior tied his career-high with 24 points and added seven assists and six rebounds to lead Auburn to an 104-76 win over the Hoosiers.

Holloway busted out of a mini-slump with a 24 point performance of his own and was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. He once again looked like one of the best shooters in the country, going 5-of-8 from behind the arc and making all five of his free throws.

It was the first time Auburn has had two 20-point scorers in once game since [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] (31 points) and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] (22 points) did go against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, 2022.

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Social media reacts to Auburn crushing Indiana

Auburn throttled Indiana and the fans had plenty to say about the win.

Auburn’s Holiday Hoopsgiving game against Indiana got off to a rough start with Indiana coming out red-hot and storming out to a 2-10 lead in the first seven minutes of action. From that point on it was all Auburn as the Tigers took over and won 104-76 Saturday in Atlanta.

Six different Tigers scored in double figures with [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] leading the way with 24 points apiece. Auburn shot a blistering 48.3% (14-29) from deep and 87% (20-23) from the free-throw line.

The dominant win fired up the Auburn fanbase, which took to social media to celebrate, here is a look at the top reactions.

Recap: Auburn gets back on track, blows out Indiana in Atlanta

Auburn basketball gets back on track, captures sixth win of season.

Auburn basketball is back on track after a disappointing road loss to Appalachian State earlier this week.

The Tigers bounced back with a vengeance on Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena, outclassing the Indiana Hoosiers end-to-end in a 104-76 victory.

Freshman [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag]’s was the star for Auburn Saturday afternoon, scoring 24 points in 22 minutes of action.

The performance was very encouraging to see from the 18-year-old, especially after his recent stretch of poor shooting.

Holloway’s great game wasn’t the main takeaway from the victory though. Auburn’s best player, forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was a non-factor on the offesnive end for almost all of his limited minutes on the floor due to foul trouble.

The junior finished with just 2 points, but that didn’t stop Auburn from passing the 100-point mark for the first time this season.

Forward Jaylin Williams picked up much of the offensive load with Broome dealing with 4 fouls, playing arguably his best game as an Auburn Tiger with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in a team-high 29 minutes.

Four other Tigers scored in double figures, with Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara, K.D Johnson, and Tre Donaldson collecting at least 10 points.

Donaldson added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in his 18 minutes on the floor.

As for the Hoosiers, a -9 turnover differential was too tough to overcome for a team that struggles scoring the basketball.

Sophomore forward Malik Reneau did his job, collecting his season average of 15 points and adding 7 rebounds and 3 assists, but the rest of the Indiana starting 5 struggled to shoot the basketball.

The Hoosiers didn’t get much from the bench either, as 5 players combined for 21 points.

Auburn is back in action in Neville Arena on Wednesday night when the Tigers host an NCAA Tournament team from last year, the UNC Ashville Bulldogs, at 7 PM Central.

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USC freshman Bronny James is expected to make season debut this weekend

Bronny James, the son of NBA star LeBron James, is expected to play when USC visits Auburn on Dec. 17.

The fanfare surrounding Auburn basketball’s game with USC on Dec. 17 at Neville Arena has increased drastically.

[autotag]Bronny James[/autotag], son of NBA star LeBron James, is set to make his season debut on Sunday for USC when the Trojans host Long Beach State at the Galen Center in Los Angeles according to a report by The Athletic. The news means that there is a possibility that he will be available to play against the Tigers next Sunday.

James suffered a cardiac event during a workout in July, which put his freshman season at USC in jeopardy. However, he has progressed tremendously over the last four months. USC head coach Andy Enfield says that James has increased his cardio and is doing individual workouts to prepare for his season debut. He may play on Sunday but do not expect him to play a full game.

“It’s hard enough to adjust to the college game for anybody, but when you’ve been out for six months, it takes time,” Enfield said in an interview with The Athletic. “But Bronny has been incredible. His attention to detail, his work ethic, he’s taken this step by step with our athletic trainers, our doctors, and our strength coach.”

After the news of James’ clearance, we reached out to Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek to get his thoughts on what James’ court presence will mean for USC going forward. Outside of the excitement that it will bring to the Trojan fanbase, Zemek believes that the team will receive a boost in production as well.

The Trojans’ offense has not evolved the way many hoped with top-ranked recruit Isaiah Collier joining veterans Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson. Bronny’s ability to hit 3-point shots while playing solid perimeter defense will take pressure off Collier and — from a USC standpoint — give Collier a better chance to do what he does best: Get to the rim in a one-on-one situation. Collier has not piled up free throw attempts the way many people thought he would. USC is still not scoring with the degree of ease the Trojans needed — and hoped for — when the season began. Bronny can really open up the court and give coach Andy Enfield a lot more flexibility in mixing and matching backcourt combinations.

Dec. 17’s game between the Tigers and Trojans will be a star-studded affair now that James has been cleared to play. There will be three members of the 247Sports composite top-25 for the 2023 cycle on the floor. Led by USC guard Isaiah Collier, the top-rated prospect of the 2023 class, the game will also feature No. 18 player [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] of Auburn and No. 22 player Bronny James.

Auburn will face USC on Sunday, Dec. 17, at noon CT at Neville Arena in Auburn. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Recap: Auburn’s win streak snapped by App State

Auburn’s win streak ends at 5 after loss to App State

The Auburn Tigers came into Sunday’s game against Appalachian State as 9.5-point favorites to extend their win streak to six games.

Bruce Pearl’s team failed to extend the streak, going cold from the field on the road.

The Tigers’ defense played well once again, holding the Mountaineers to 69 points, but Auburn’s inefficiency on the offensive end failed them on the road.

Auburn scored just 64 points on a sloppy Sunday, shooting 39% from the field and 11% from 3-point range.

Freshman [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] continued to struggle, scoring just 8 points on 2/10 from the field in the first true road game of his career.

Forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was effective again, scoring 21 points on the way to another double-double, but the Tigers supporting staff disappeared in the North Carolina mountains.

The aforementioned Holloway and [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] were the only Tigers other than Broome scored more than 6 points in the game.

The Mountaineers on the other hand received contributions across the board, as four App State players scored in double figures.

Bench scoring was one of the major differences in the game, as the Mountaineers bench outscored Auburn’s 40-27,

Guards Terence Harcum and Myles Tate led upset charge. The duo shot 4/7 from 3-point range on their way to 30 combined points.

Tate hit the most important shot of the game with a dagger 3-ball to put his team up 6 points with 30 seconds to play.

While the loss is disheartening for an Auburn team with high expectations, the offensive woes are common in an early-afternoon road game.

Auburn shooting 3/27 from 3-point range is more of an outlier than the norm, and this team should be able to regroup before they host Big 10 opponent Indiana at Neville Arena next Saturday.

 

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Andy Katz projects Auburn as a No. 8 seed in first bracket prediction

The season is early, and Auburn has plenty of time to boost its stock ahead of Selection Sunday.

It may only be November, but college basketball insiders everywhere have already started filling out their projected NCAA Tournament brackets.

NCAA.com insider Andy Katz released his first bracket projection on Wednesday afternoon, ranking the Auburn Tigers as an 8 seed in the Midwest Region.

Katz projects a hypothetical matchup of Tigers in the first round, with Auburn taking on last year’s Ivy League Champion Princeton.

Princeton has gotten off to an undefeated start this season with a similar style of play to that of Auburn.

The Ivy League Tigers are 7-0 this year with wins over tournament hopefuls Rutgers and Hofstra.

Like Auburn, Princeton wins games with tenacious defense and an offense led by double-double threat Caden Pierce and two solid shooters on the outside.

Auburn is one of nine SEC teams in the projected field. The SEC is tied with the Big 10 for the most teams in the bracket.

While this bracket can be taken with a grain of salt, Auburn as an 8 seed seems low based on the way the Tigers have played to open up the season.

[autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s team’s lone loss this season was at the hands of Big 12 opponent Baylor, who Katz projects as a 2 seed in the same region.

Auburn lost that game by 6 on a neutral court but has followed the loss by racking up five straight wins by double-digit victories.

The Tigers may very well struggle in SEC play in a competitive conference, but they could also thrive with a defense holding opponents to under 64 points per game this season and a timely offensive led by [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag].

It remains to be seen where Auburn will end up in the NCAA Tournament, but the early eye test tells me this team is good enough to land on the No. 6 or No. 7 line.

A first-round matchup with Princeton would be extremely entertaining though.

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Aden Holloway named a top 10 freshman by On3

Holloway has exceeded all expectations to start the season.

Auburn basketball is 4-1 to start the season and a major reason why has been the play of freshman point guard [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag]. The former five-star recruit started the season as the backup point guard but after several strong games, [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] injected him into the starting lineup.

He has impressed with both his scoring and facilitating ability, his 13.2 points per game are second most on the team and his 3.8 assists lead the team.

Holloway’s strong start to the season has made him one of the top newcomers in the country and On3’s Jame Shaw ranked him as the 9th best freshman in the country.

Heralded as one of the top shooters in the 2023 recruiting class, Holloway has exceeded all expectations, making 42.9% of his 3-points on seven attempts per game.

Holloway and the rest of the Tigers will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 29 when they host Virginia Tech as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

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Recap: Auburn cruises to fourth victory of season

Recap: Auburn cruises to fourth victory of season

The Auburn Tigers had a successful return to Neville Arena on Tuesday, blowing out the Alabama A&M Bulldogs by a score of 84-54.

Auburn silenced the Bulldogs early, jumping out to a 49-15 halftime lead behind the strong shooting of forward [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and guards [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag].

The Tigers ended up losing the second half of the game, but their lead never got lower than 25 points.

Junior guard Eric Lee led the way for Alabama A&M in the blowout loss, notching 10 points on 4/7 from the field.

Lee also added 2 rebounds and a steal in the game.

As for the Tigers, it was guard Chaney Johnson who paced the scoring attack. The transfer was given extra minutes in the blowout and made the most of them, collecting 15 points and 4 rebounds on 6/8 shooting.

[autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag], [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] were the only other Tigers in double figures, with 13, 10, and 10 points, respectively.

Forward [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] has shown an early knack for filling up the stat sheet, and he played arguably his best game of the season on Tuesday.

The junior led all players in assists with 6, contributed 6 points, and brought in 4 rebounds. He also added a steal.

Bruce Pearl’s team heads to the Thanksgiving break 4-1 and returns to action a week from tomorrow, when they’ll host Virginia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge at Neville Arena.

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