It snapped a two-game losing streak for Auburn and, at least temporarily, alleviates some of the mounting pressure on head coach Jeff Lebo, whose job security is coming into question.“They’re all big,” Lebo said of the win. “There’s not one that’s not. Try losing one, if you think it’s not, then you’ll find out — they’re all big.”
Barber scored 21 points and finished with eight rebounds.
Auburn is now 14-9 this season, with a 3-5 record in the SEC.
I'll say this: 3-5 in the SEC looks a heck of a lot better than 2-6. So Auburn's still got some hope this season, although I'm thinking best-case scenario is to earn an NIT bid.
Some thoughts on the game ...
- What a frantic final possession. Auburn missed two free throws, nearly turned the ball over twice on inbounds passes, was lucky not to get a foul call against it on the second and finally got the game-winning layup. Not exactly how the Tigers drew it up, but they'll take it.
- The Volunteers shot 59.2 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers. So how did they lose? Well, they got hammered on the boards, getting out-rebounded 34-21. Auburn grabbed 14 rebounds and had a 19-2 advantage in second-chance points. “The other day in practice we did a drill called War Rebounds,” said Barber, who led the team with eight boards. “You do whatever you can to keep each other off the glass — tackle, just whatever we have to do. I think that drill helped us tonight, boxing out.”
- Rasheem Barrett was outstanding again, scoring a game-high 27 points. That's after he had a career-high 29 against Vanderbilt last time at home. He's got a very old-man's game, which is not an insult. All he does is hit jumpers from 8 to 15 feet. It's very effective.
- Quantez Robertson watched his 112-game starting streak come to an end after arriving late to the arena. His reason? He was at the barber shop.
- One last note before I go to cover a hockey game tonight: Johnnie Lett (ankle) was on crutches during the game and did not look in good shape. I'd say getting him back next week is very optimistic. He's supposed to evaluated again at the end of the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment