Tag: bruce pearl

Twitter reacts to Auburn’s loss to Ole Miss

Auburn fans weren’t happy with the charge call against Sharife Cooper or the Tigers blowing another big lead in the loss to Ole Miss.

Auburn lost to Ole Miss 86-84 today. Now I’ve got one word to say to you all about this: inexplicable. Despite leading by double digits the Tigers couldn’t come away with a win and they advance to 10-10 overall.

Large leads aren’t safe with this Auburn team. Remember that 12-point lead Auburn had over Arkansas at halftime that just mysteriously evaporated? Oh, and that blown call at the end of the game where Sharife got mugged yeah that sucked too. This time the officials gifted us with a phantom charge call against Sharife that robbed the Tigers of a bucket and eventually set up Ole Miss to tie the game.

I’m tired y’all, but I still love Auburn. Here’s Twitter’s reactions.

 

 

 

Everything Bruce Pearl said after Auburn’s overtime loss to Ole Miss

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl speaks after the Tigers’ overtime loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.

Opening Statement…

“Romello White and (Devontae) Shuler are pretty good players, older players. Schuler is an All-SEC guard and played like it, particularly down the stretch. Romello White was a monster in there. Our strategy was to front the post, front it to a fault, make them lob it over the top, but our bigs just wouldn’t do it, couldn’t do it. We probably could’ve doubled a little bit more. I was just disappointed that we couldn’t keep it out of there and make them lob it over the top. I asked the guys after the game just to do the little things, the basics. You score 84 points against a team that gives up 63 a game and is the number two defensive team – it’s not our offense, it’s our ability to defend, defense, rebounding, toughness, strength, just getting pushed around. The guys, defensively, don’t have to be Superman. They’ve just got to do a better job of getting the guy in front of you and a better job of communicating, a better job of getting a deflection, forcing some more turnovers. Five-point lead at the end of regulation, timeout. Steven Pearl drew up both plays they were going to run. He drew them both up. Shuler set a back screen, we didn’t stay sticky, he comes off it and knocks down a 3-ball. Then they ran something else where they cleared us out and drove us downhill. Can’t guard, can’t win.

On the final shot from Shuler…

“He’s a veteran player. The zone had been good for us. Again, when they ran that middle ball screen, we asked our guards to switch out. They didn’t. They switched flat, which then let Shuler get to his spot. It’s just simple things like that that we could’ve done better or differently. A lot of stuff we talked about doing, we didn’t do.”

On Jaylin Williams and Sharife Cooper setting up the late 3 for Auburn…

“Our guys have done a really good job competing and fighting and playing hard. We played really well today. We did a lot of really good things. You score 84 against Ole Miss, man. Now, I thought we had some careless turnovers. That was a real problem for us. Sharife (Cooper) and Allen (Flanigan) had 11 turnovers. That’s a lot. Some teams don’t have 11 turnovers. That was a factor for us. They had 17 points off our turnovers. Were all of them forced? I don’t think so. Our guys are obviously competing until the end. The pressure was a factor. We turned them over. We just didn’t finish.”

On what changed from the 14-point lead to the end of regulation…

“I’ll have to go back and look at it. My guess is that we stopped rebounding and they got to the paint. I don’t know exactly what the issue is. We had a couple of really bad turnovers. Passing with no purpose, stepping out of bounds, or just not valuing possessions offensively and not getting stops on the defensive end. Ole Miss got some real effort and energy plays. Their two best players were dominant tonight. I thought overall we played well. We did a lot of really good things. The kids played hard. Down the stretch, I even told our guys in timeouts, ‘If we get beat, they’ll say they were older, more experienced, been there done that.’ I said, ‘Let’s not let that happen.’ We told them what they would do and they did it.”

Auburn 40, Ole Miss 34: 1st half thoughts and analysis

Auburn leads Ole Miss 40-34 at halftime behind nine points and seven assists from guard Sharife Cooper.

Happy Saturday, everyone! That was an interesting first half in which Auburn fell behind early and then took some control for he game. The result is a 40-34 lead for the Tigers over Ole Miss as Sharife Cooper leads the team with nine points, seven assists and two steals but has turned the ball over four times in the first 20 minutes.

It will be a hard-fought second half as Auburn looks to break even in the series against Ole Miss for the season. Here are my thoughts and analysis (hard-hitting, I’m sure) at halftime.

  • Allen Flanigan MUST learn that the opposing scouting report is going to say he will not stop once int he lane and pull up for a jumper and, the majority of the time, it will result in a charge.
  • Speaking of Flanigan, he really is struggling mightily right now. Hopefully that rebound and outback with 4:30 left to play will give him some confidence but he does have three fouls.
  • If and when Cooper gets that three-point shot down, watch out. He’s basically unguardable at that point.
  • That pass near the end of the half from Cooper to Cambridge? Chef’s kiss.
  • I like Bruce Pearl’s beard but you would think that a beard plus wearing a mask plus him running around and screaming would result in it being extremely hot. These are things I think of.
  • I have probably said this before but I would like to volunteer to attend a practice at the invitation of Bruce Pearl and show players the basics of blocking out.
  • Devan Cambridge just doesn’t look confident shooting the ball anymore and that is a weapon Auburn needs.
  • Justin Ferguson mentioned this in a tweet but I will add on to it: Kermit Davis looks like a guy that would be a golf pro or your local preacher and then … he starts yelling at a level I don’t think most people even have. And since Ferguson mentioned it, my top 5 SEC coaches I wouldn’t want to be yelled at:
    1. Frank Martin
    2. Bruce Pearl
    3. Kermit Davis
    4. Tom Crean
    5. ohn Calipari
  • Dead last is Will Wade because he looks like a petulant child at all times.
  • JT Thor is starting to progress nicely on the offensive side of the floor.
  • I’m all here for Dylan Cardwell smiles and reactions after he dunks yet another alley-oop. His enthusiasm is contagious and I love it.
  • The symmetry of the AU interlocking logo at mid-court is absolutely perfect. That is all.
  • Is it just me or are Ole Miss’ basketball powder blue uniforms a lot darker than the football ones? I prefer the football ones.

Everything Bruce Pearl said ahead of Auburn vs. Ole Miss

Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl previews the Tigers matchup against Ole Miss on Saturday.

Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl

 

Opening statement…

“Good afternoon. Getting ready for Ole Miss. They handled us pretty good over there the first time, turned us over with their 1-3-1. We struggled against it. We have historically, it’s bothered us a little bit. It’s kind of feast or famine. Ole Miss is second in the league in scoring defense. Again, you guys get tired of hearing me say this, but they are the most experienced team in our league based on how many guys have played and for as many years as they have. They have a lot of transfers. Older, physical, scrappy, tough. They play with as much of an edge, I think, is anybody in our league. They’re No. 2 in forcing turnovers, so we have historically turned it over at least 17 times a game against them – we turned it over 17 times over there – and they turn people over 17 times. They get a lot of offense out of their defense. It won’t be a high scoring game. We’ve got to be locked in ourselves defensively. The things that we struggle with – offensive rebounding, our transition offense, transition defense – that’s something they’re pretty good at. (Devontae) Shuler and (Jarkel) Joiner are playing really, really well right now. They’ve got a lot of depth, too. They have got 13 guys on the roster, and 13 different guys have played at various times. And then for us, bouncing back from Georgia – that was tough. Georgia played well, we didn’t. It will be an opportunity for us to play against a team that we are going to be right in there with. I think the next few games – there’s a pack in the middle of the league that’s going to separate itself from one another, and we’re involved in a number of those games against the middle of the pack here.”

On what he saw from the team after a disappointing loss to Georgia…

“It was tough coming back on Wednesday. They got it off because if they get one day off a week on a Sunday-Tuesday schedule, Wednesday’s their day off. We came back yesterday and it took us three quarters of our practice to finally get going. We ended practice well, but it took us a long time to get there. It happens to all teams. I could chalk my team up to so many first times we’ve gone through some things because this is the first year for this group together. I don’t know what’s happening to other teams in our league. I can see results and can say, ‘Man, South Carolina goes to Florida after Florida gets ranked and beats them. Tennessee looks like they got everything figured out against Kansas and then Ole Miss beats them.’ For us, you knew the Georgia game was going to be a challenge to be as excited about, but we worked on it and talked about it. We didn’t have that edge. What I told my guys is what we do doesn’t work if we’re not flying around. Georgia flew around, we didn’t, and that was the result. We can fly around and get beat. We could’ve flown around with Georgia and still got beat. They played very well. But, we won’t (win) if we don’t fly around.”

On adjustments that need to be made after the game Tuesday…

“They’re really more like improvements. It’s not that Kermit Davis, the next guy we’re going up against, isn’t watching a film of us either. It’s hard for me to go, ‘Here is exactly what it is, and then tell my opponent where they should go to beat us, this is where we’re weak.’ Now, they probably watch film and figure it out. But from a standpoint of being open and honest, let me give you a list of three main things we can’t do. So obviously it’s involving certain aspects. Georgia got 53 points at the rim. Fifty-three points in the paint. Ole Miss is really good from 2. They’re better from 2 than 3, and they’re really physical and can get inside. If we don’t guard better in certain areas, Ole Miss is going to get to the rim, which is where they’re good. That’ll obviously be a problem for us. Remember Arkansas? Points in the paint. So if we’re going to talk about how to do it, that’s probably it.”

On what stood out in Ole Miss’ win vs. Tennessee…

“They were better than Tennessee that night. Bigger, stronger, beat Tennessee at their own game. They’re the No. 2 defensive team in the league. Tennessee’s the best defensive team in the league. It was a an absolute dogfight. Ole Miss, by virtue of the fact that they’re going to play in the 50s and 60s, they’re going to be in every game. They had Florida beat at Florida. They’re close, and they are better than they were a year ago. Kermit’s (Davis) got really good pieces. (Devontae) Shuler was All-SEC. And then you bring in Romello White, who was one of the better players in the Pac-12, and he’s been consistently good and playing better. (Jarkel) Joiner was the best player in Cal State-Bakersfield’s league. He led them in scoring and he’s scoring really well here. The kid that transferred from Samford (Robert Allen) has gotten better. Senior. Senior. Senior. Senior. Ole Miss, they could be a team that could make a run at the end of the year, because they’re big, they’re strong, they’re athletic, they’re old, and they’re going to guard you every night, whether or not they’re going to struggle scoring. That’s been their bugaboo. Otherwise, they would be having an even better record than what they do earlier in the year. And then on their math, they were the best defensive team in the country before we started SEC play. Not everything to do with schedule. They were just dominating people. People could score against them. They’re hard to score against.”

Woof! Auburn outworked, outhustled in every aspect in 91-86 loss to Georgia

Auburn was outworked, out-hustled and outfought by Georgia as the Bulldogs came into Auburn Arena and walked out with a 91-86 win.

You would expect Auburn, coming off a blowout loss to Baylor, to take the floor against rival Georgia on Tuesday night with passion, energy and a will to get back on the winning side of things.

From the very beginning of the game, it was obvious that it was the Bulldogs that had the fire in their bellies for the game.

In what was a frustrating night to watch Bruce Pearl’s team, Auburn was outhustled, outfought and outworked in every aspect of the game and the result was an embarrassing 91-86 defeat to the Bulldogs.

We can point at a lot of things that made the difference in Auburn Arena but it’s very simple: whenever there was a loose rebound, Georgia was the one coming down with it. Blocking out seems to have been that Pearl and his staff have yet to reach in their playbook despite years of it being a problem for teams during their tenure, no matter how successful they were.

After beating Georgia by 18 in Athens last month, it seemed that the Tigers felt as those the Bulldogs would just give the game to them. Sluggish and sloppy were terms you would use to describe the first five minutes of the game as Tom Crean’s team jumped out to a 10-2 lead.

Whenever the Tigers made a run, Georgia had an answer and, a lot of times, it came on second-chance points.

It was as if Auburn’s mind wasn’t ever on the game, especially guard Allen Flanigan who had one of his worst nights in a Tigers uniform. You would think that the simple act of making a wide-open layup for someone who is 6-foot-6 would be easy but Flanigan has turned it into a task. His lack of control with the ball in his hand is somehow worse as he killed momentum twice with charging fouls, something that has become a regular thing for him.

It wasn’t all Flanigan, of course. Devan Cambridge remains an issue on the offensive side of the floor except when he is finishing an alley-oops. JT Thor basically disappeared, Jaylin Williams basically never showed up at the arena and Dylan Cardwell was just someone to put in the middle of the floor without much else use.

This is where I am supposed to stop and say, “Hey, this is a young team!” Well, that really isn’t the case anymore. With the exception of Sharife Cooper who had struggles of his own on Tuesday night, this is a group that should be improving, not regressing, as the year goes along.

If Saturday was a sign that Auburn can play with the big boys for just a little while, Tuesday showed that the Tigers have a lot of work to do.

When watching the film of this game, all of the players are going to see times when they were out-worked for the ball by an overmatched Georgia team that just willed their way to a win. It should be met with a red face in front of the rest of their teammates and coaching staff and the only way to react is to bring more grit and determination than ever in the next practices and ensuing games.

It’s the only way this team gets better. Take the loss, have each player look in the mirror and learn from it.

Everything Bruce Pearl said following Auburn’s loss to No. 2 Baylor

Auburn fought tough for the first half but couldn’t match No. 2 Baylor for the entire game in a 84-72 loss to the Bears.

Opening statement…

“Disappointed. Missed opportunity. I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we executed really well for the first 15 minutes. Like the Arkansas game, we had some breakdowns at the end of the first half and didn’t start the second half with any effort and energy. We got outplayed in the backcourt, and that’s OK because (Jared) Butler and (MaCio) Teague and Davion Mitchell and (Adam) Flagler are all really good. But I think our guys are good, too. That was disappointing. Just from the look of the shooting percentages that we had. We just didn’t guard them in the second half or at the end of the first half like I think we’re capable of. I’m proud of the kids for coming back. We called a timeout there late with about five minutes to go. Baylor kept their starters in the entire game, trying to build on their scoring margin or something. So we pressed and closed the game out in the last five or six minutes with some effort and energy. We made some plays.”

On Baylor’s run early in the second half…

“They’re dangerous. But how much of it was them? How much of it was us? I think I’ve got to hold us a little bit more accountable. I think the good thing is I would like to think we could control that.”

On the impact of playing No. 1 and No. 2 teams…

“It’s an important thing. These guys came here to play against a great schedule. You’re fortunate to be able to play in this arena, play against this program. It’s a bit of a gauge for where we’re at and we’re close, we’re improving – but we’re not where we want to be or where I want us.”

On difference in rebounding between first and second half…

“In the first half, the defense is in front of our bench. We’re in their ear about where to be and where not to be. The other thing, too, is whether or not fatigue is a factor. Sharife (Cooper) and Al (Flanigan) both played almost 34 minutes. That’s a lot of minutes. To be able to play at the level that you have to play at, part of it is maybe being not as physically strong to be able to dig down to get some of those second half resources. Part of it is the offseason. We didn’t have the kind of offseason you would normally have. But again, from my standpoint, I’m going to put it on us as a team. Fatigue was a factor, but that’s because we let down some.”

On solid frontcourt play from JT Thor and Jaylin Williams…

“They did well. I knew going in that Jaylin (Williams) at the 5 was going to be a good thing. We didn’t take enough advantage of him at the 5, but I thought those two young guys played really, really well. With the exception of (Flo) Thamba getting 11 rebounds and their big guys rebounded, their starting 4 and 5 had two points, and our starting 4 and 5 had 30. So I thought our frontline guys from that standpoint did really well. We did a nice job there.”

Opinion: Auburn gains valuable lesson, experience in loss to No. 2 Baylor

Auburn couldn’t hold off a big run by No. 2 Baylor at the beginning of the first half in a 84-72 loss to the Bears.

If there ever was a sign that it wasn’t Auburn’s day in Waco, it happened around the nine-minute mark in the second half when a tipped ball popped right to Baylor’s Matthew Mayer on the top of the key and the forward drained a three-pointer.

It definitely wasn’t the difference as the second-ranked Bears, a team full of veterans, came out and imposed their will on the still-learning Tigers, but it showed that when you are good, the bounces are likely going to go your way.

The end result was a 84-72 defeat that was never in question after the Bears came out of the locker room in the second half and made their first four field goal attempts while Auburn struggled to even try and keep pace.

Yet this was what many expected to happen. Baylor isn’t undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation for nothing. The team is built for a national championship run under Scott Drew and, with a starting lineup that Bruce Pearl half-jokingly said was older than that of the Chicago Bulls, the Bears know how to punish young teams still learning. That is exactly what this Auburn team is: a group that are still trying to find their way, the best way to use their talents within the team and a group that is more green than Baylor’s away uniforms.

There were some positives of course to take out of it and that doesn’t even include the chance to battle against a team that is one of the favorites to win it all this year. That is a lesson that the Tigers will take from this loss. If you can battle this team for 20 minutes and stand toe-to-toe? Nothing will scare these guys in the future.

Sharife Cooper battled his heart out as well despite getting checked by bigger players. A “bad” game for the freshman turned into 15 points, seven rebounds  and five assists against a defense surely focused on taking him out of his game no matter the consequences.

The Tigers never quit, either. It would have been easy to throw in the towel while down 20 in the final 10 minutes but, let’s face it, Bruce Pearl wouldn’t allow that. Neither would this team.

There’s no shame in losing this game no matter how lopsided the score became. When Baylor catches fire like they did in the first 12 minutes of the second half, no one, not even Gonzaga, may be able to stay with them. They are just that good and you just have to tip your hat to them. It was a display of pure dominance for a while and even shots that were contended ended up going in.

Take the loss for what it was. Learn from it. Build on it. That is all you can possibly do.

With the future of this team so bright, we may look back at this game as one of the building blocks for a lot of victories.

Sharife Cooper, Davion Mitchell matchup highlights Auburn’s tilt with Baylor

Auburn star Sharife Cooper will match up against former Tiger Davion Mitchell when the Tigers play Baylor on Saturday.

Sharife Cooper has already battled a few good guards since joining Auburn on Jan. 9 but no matchup will be as big as what faces him on Saturday in Baylor’s Davion Mitchell.

Tigers fans are aware of the Bears’ Mitchell as he played for the orange and blue back in 2017-18 when Auburn won the SEC regular season title. As a freshman, the Hinesville, Ga. native averaged 3.7 points and 1.9 assists on 17.1 minutes per game.

With Jared Harper permanently in place as the starter, Mitchell decided to transfer prior to the 2018-19 season much to the chagrin of Bruce Pearl.

“I’m so grateful for Davion coming to Auburn,” Pearl said. “I hated when he left. It broke my heart. He was playing with and competing with Jared Harper. Jared was a year older and had a little bit of an edge. I would have loved to have had a chance to play them together. If Davion stayed, we never would’ve seen J’Von McCormick. So it worked out great for everybody.”

The move to the Big 12 school has definitely been good for Mitchell. As a redshirt sophomore last season, he played 32.4 minutes per game for Scott Drew and became an impact player, putting up 9.9 points, 3.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game on his way to earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

He’s been even better this year, averaging 12.9 points, 5.9 assist and 2.2 steals per game for undefeated and second-ranked Baylor.

It is Mitchell’s physicality that can be troublesome for the smaller Cooper. At 205 pounds, the Baylor guard has at least 25 pounds on the star freshman guard and will use that to his advantage when trying to get Cooper out of his game.

Pearl, though, isn’t worried about Cooper backing down.

“He’ll do fine,” Pearl said. “He’ll respect Davion for sure. Everything we do will be harder to do because Davion will be guarding him. But they’ve got other guys that can guard as well. It’s Baylor against Auburn. It’s not Davion against Sharife. There’s not bad blood at all between Auburn and Baylor, Davion and our coaches. We love him, we miss him and I’m proud of him. But it’ll be a great matchup of great players.”

Dan Dakich on Auburn’s self-imposed tournament ban: ‘I got to re-think it’

ESPN analyst Dan Dakich is all aboard the Sharife Cooper bandwagon now and thinks Auburn should reconsider the self-imposed postseason ban.

It’s hilarious how much Dan Dakich’s attitude toward Sharife Cooper and his presence on the Auburn basketball team has changed during the last few weeks.

After taking the stance that Cooper’s productivity would only decline from his debut against Alabama, the ESPN analyst has seemingly turned the page by calling the freshman point guard possibly the best player in the SEC and, per The Montgomery Advertiser, is now saying Bruce Pearl should consider lifting the self-imposed postseason ban on the Tigers this year.

“He’s been absolutely fantastic,” Dakich said of Cooper. “That dude is 1,000% dynamic. That dude gets easy shots.

“And don’t think for a second that Bruce Pearl opted out knowing or thinking that this kid was going to be that good,” Dakich added. “It’s one thing to be that good in practice, boss. Bruce Pearl, if I’m him, I got to re-think it.”

Yes, Cooper has absolutely been that good for the Tigers since joining the team on January 9 after missing the first 11 games of the season due to eligibility concerns. The Powder Springs, Ga. native is averaging 22.3 points, 8.7 assists and five rebounds a game.

In the victory over No. 12 Missouri on Tuesday night, Cooper was clutch from the free throw line, making 18-of-21 attempts with many coming in the final minutes and the game still in question.

“That’s my favorite thing to do is close the game,” Cooper said following the 88-82 victory. “Just making the right plays, making winning plays that affect the game tremendously – just by doing something little. That’s my favorite thing to do since I was a kid.”

Everything Bruce Pearl said after Auburn’s victory over No. 12 Missouri

Auburn came back from an early second-half deficit to beat No. 12 Missouri on Tuesday night in Auburn Arena.

Opening statement…

“That is the best win of the year so far against a nationally ranked team. A really, really good team in Missouri. A veteran team. A team we didn’t beat last year. We had a great game at Missouri last year. They played great and we played pretty well. We went there with just two losses and they gave us our third, and we only had (six) losses last year. They bought everyone back, a very experienced team. The youngest team in college basketball managed to survive a really slow start in the second half. We are a lot better with Sharife Cooper on the floor. When he got in foul trouble, we bogged down. There were a lot of really strong performances. If I would’ve told you that we would make six 3s and we could win, I would have worried about it, and if told me the two guys that would make three were Chris Moore and JT Thor, I might have questioned that. Very unusual. I’m happy for the bench. They did a great job tonight. We outscored them, outplayed them off the bench, which is terrific. Led by Devan Cambridge, Dylan Cardwell was 6 for 7 from the foul line, Chris (Moore) played his best game, Javon (Franklin) gave us some great moments. A good team victory. Now it’s on to No. 2 Baylor.”

On the bench play…

“I thought the bench was really good. If you look at the numbers, Devan (Cambridge), we were plus-8 with him out there. Dylan, we were plus-10 with him out there. He was 6 for 7 from the foul line. Plus-10 for Chris Moore. He doesn’t miss a shot. Stretch (Babatunde Akingbola) gave us some valuable minutes and some big rebounds, and Javon (Franklin) contributed. That’s just impressive.”

On making free throws down the stretch…

“Late on the lead, they fouled us a lot. Both teams got to the line a lot. We got in the bonus sooner in the second half. That made a big difference. In the first half free throws, we were 9 for 14 and they were 11 for 14. Both teams got there. In the second half on the lead, they just had a hard time staying in front of Sharife (Cooper) and Al(len) Flanigan did a good job there as well. I like 3s and frees. I want to shoot the 3 ball and I want to attack the rim. I thought we did both well enough to win.”

On putting back in Sharife Cooper with foul trouble…

“We didn’t want to start him because I didn’t want him to get his fourth foul right away. I didn’t want to put him in there until after the first TV timeout. We just didn’t start well. That was disappointing, because I thought that group can, but they just didn’t. That’s a missed opportunity for them. We were sloppy offensively. We missed some shots and that was an issue. He’s our quarterback. We just saw four great quarterbacks play in the AFC and NFC Championship. I don’t think any of those teams are there without their quarterback. He made a huge difference.”

On Sharife Cooper’s play down the stretch…

“We talk about him being an alpha dog and what that’s all about. He’s the biggest little man out there, period. Everybody knows it. But, when it comes to the end of a game, he expects to win. He expects to make the plays, and if he doesn’t, he takes full responsibility. The winning can happen on both ends. He had eight rebounds. He’s obviously a terrific athlete and has great quickness. We are going to go up against a Baylor team with probably the best defensive guards in the country. I’m sure they are excited about the opportunity to try to shut off Sharife’s water, and they are very capable of doing it. That’s going to be by far our toughest challenge.”