GRANVILLE, South Carolina — At one point during the game, Jabari Smith walked away from the basket, put his hands on his head, and stared up.
With 11:44 remaining, he was fouled after missing another layup. Smith yelled out of frustration. That pretty much sums up the last game for a fantastic Auburn basketball squad.
In the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, a 79-61 loss to No. 10 seed Miami put an end to one of Auburn’s best seasons in programme history.
The 19-game winning streak that propelled the Tigers (28-6) to the top of both polls was followed by five straight defeats. For the fourth time in the program’s history, they won the SEC regular-season title.
However, they were eliminated from both the conference and national championships in the first round. Three years after making it to the Final Four as a No. 5 seed, they were eliminated in the Sweet 16 this year as a No. 2 seed.
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Contents
A Team is Just as Good as its Greatest Players.
Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, Auburn’s All-American frontcourt tandem, propelled the Tigers to the fourth spot in the SEC after being picked to finish fifth. On Friday, they won the opening round, combining for 33 points and 24 rebounds.
Guard play was under the microscope all season, but Smith and Kessler had their worst games of the year in the season finale.
Smith made just 3 of 16 shots overall and 1 of 8 threes. Kessler got in some early foul trouble, and he wasn’t himself when he came back for the second half. He shot 0 for 6 and totaled 2 points, 2 boards, and 2 blocks.
A total of 21 of Auburn’s 69 field goal attempts were successful, including 5 of 26 three point attempts and 11 of 24 layup attempts.
The Offensive Effort Stymied Itself.
Somehow, the window had been left open. All lanes were open. With a chase-down block reminiscent of LeBron James, K.D. Johnson gave Auburn’s fans one last reason to cheer. Wendell Green Jr. got the rebound and drove to the basket at full speed, but he missed the layup.
On the other end of the court, Miami senior and all-star Charlie Moore composed himself in transition, made room for himself, and sank a jump shot. He waved his hand for Miami to settle down. Auburn was losing to a team with four sixth-year seniors, despite the fact that they were the youngest club in the league.
The only thing keeping Miami in the tournament was the 13.8 turnovers per game their opponents committed. In the opening 14 minutes of play, Auburn committed eight turnovers. There were thirteen points total, compared to four for Miami.
The best times to watch these Tigers play were when they were in full swing. During Sunday’s game, they were relatively slow. It was in Miami.
What accounts for the variance in critical junctures? Score: Miami 30, Auburn 1.
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Managing a Game in those Dire Circumstances was Difficult.
Kessler’s two fouls in the first four minutes put pressure on coach Bruce Pearl to make some tough game management decisions. He would sometimes start Dylan Cardwell at the five spot and then switch to a small-ball lineup with Smith and Jaylin Williams.
Williams provided offensive help while Smith struggled to find the basket (two of his ten first-half attempts). Two days after undergoing dental work, he played 10 minutes and scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
As a defender, Cardwell had been all over the map this year. He played tenacious minutes as Miami shot 5-for-16 in the last minutes of the first half, allowing Auburn to close to within a point.
Kessler started the second half 0-for-5 from the field, and Miami went on an 8-0 run as a result. As a result, he refrained from making any further shooting attempts.
Pearl has never been one to voluntarily call timeout when things are going badly. Since they were so young overall, the Tigers had problems reorganising on their own.
