A miracle 3-pointer sparked a second-half surge as Auburn beat Ole Miss by 13 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.Quantez Robertson provided the shot that turned the tide, getting up the court in the final 3.1 seconds of the first half, nearly having the ball knocked loose from his hands, gathering it and sinking a 3-pointer at the horn to get Auburn into the locker room down by only four.
The Tigers (18-10, 7-6 SEC) carried that momentum through the half, scoring the first 11 points coming out of the locker room and going on a 23-5 run that Ole Miss (15-12, 6-7 SEC) couldn't overcome.
Auburn out-scored Ole Miss 41-24 in the second half, avenging the 19-point drubbing the Rebels administered in the teams' first meeting in Oxford on Feb. 4. The Tigers have won five of six since that game.
“This was one team we really wanted to beat,” said guard Tay Waller, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points.
This win was significant for a number of reasons. It puts Auburn in a second-place tie with Mississippi State in the SEC West, with the teams set to play in Starkville on Saturday at 6 p.m. EST.
It's also the first time in head coach Jeff Lebo's five years on the Plains that Auburn has won 18 games in a season.
Some other thoughts ...
- You really can't overstate the importance of Tez's 3-pointer at the buzzer. Lebo said it reminded him a lot of Nets guard Devin Harris' miracle shot that SportsCenter devoted 20 hours of coverage to last week. I'd agree with that assessment, although Tez's doesn't quite compare.
- If that wasn't enough, Waller scored seven points in the first 51 seconds of the second half, getting fouled on a 3 on Auburn's first possession and completing a four-point play. The next time down the floor, he came off a high screen and sank his fourth 3-pointer of the night to put Auburn ahead 43-40.
- Waller is averaging 20.2 points in the last five games, going 21-for-47 from 3-point range.
- Another monster night for Korvotney Barber, who notched his ninth double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds. And he faced a big challenge on the glass, too, matching up with Ole Miss' Malcolm White, who grabbed 18 rebounds. After getting out-rebounded 22-10 in the first half, the Tigers held a 23-19 advantage in the second half.
- The Rebels fell apart in the second half. They shot 25 percent, missed 16 of their first 17 shots and finished the game with a season-high 23 turnovers. Worse yet, they were bickering on the floor for parts of the second half. "Making that nice little run we made, some teams don't know how to handle it and some do," Robertson said.
- Memo to Auburn promotions: don't try the white out again. It simply doesn't work in a half-empty arena.
- This win bodes well for Auburn's postseason chances. The Tigers were a sixth seed in the latest NIT-ology projection, last updated on Feb. 23. Not only that, but Ole Miss is shaping up to be one of their direct competitors in what could be a tight field.
- And finally, Auburn legend Vincent "Bo" Jackson, aka the Greatst Video Game Athlete of Our Lifetime (scroll to the bottom), was in attendance. Looking back, I guess he was a pretty good real football player too. I'm sure Bo was good for 10-12 points on the scoreboard, just by sitting courtside.
3 comments:
Let's hope no filth from Jay Jacobs rubbed off on Bo. I'll send Bo some sanitizer just in case...maybe Jacobs is trying to improve his image by rubbing elbows with legends...too bad he'll never be one.
Congrats to the Tigers on another big win! Good luck against Miss. State on Saturday!
.....You do a great job on this blog, Mr. Bitter! The coverage rivals AUUndercover, and is better than Scout.
.....Bo Jackson was awesome. We had no passing game, and he still got his yards. There may never be another like him!
Post a Comment