You are looking LIVE ... at your television set, just like I am from Auburn, sitting comfortably on my couch to bring you tonight's running blog post of the Auburn-Florida game.I guess this makes me a blogger tonight instead of a reporter, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I can guarantee you that I am neither a) in my underwear or b) in my mother's basement.
I'll be updating all night, hopefully getting bits of info from some of my colleagues fortunate enough to be in Tampa covering the event. Anniston Star beat hack Luke Brietzke informs me it is a very pro-Gator crowd, not surprising since Gainesville is about a 2-hour drive from Tampa.
Keep refreshing the page throughout the night for updates during the game, and feel free to post a comment or e-mail me at abitter@ledger-enquirer.com is you want. Send some good insight on the game and I'll throw it up here on the blog.
8:55: No surprises in the starting lineup for Auburn tonight: Korvotney Barber, DeWayne Reed, Rasheem Barrett, Quantez Robertson and Tay Waller. Why mess up a good thing if you're going strong, right?
8:56: I'd also like to thank Taco Bell for being the unofficial sponsor of tonight's pre-game meal in my living room. It might not be the best food, but I'd like to see you come up with 50 different combinations of meat, cheese and lettuce.
8:59: I'm glad this just about it for Auburn on Raycom. I've been watching all these tournament games in HD all day -- every single conference -- and then I get to the SEC and it's fuzzy and dark. I know, I'm a TV snob.
9:01: Waller missed his first 3, by the way, which is usually the kiss of death for his night.
9:02: Nervous start for Auburn. Barber's trying to settle everyone down. Doesn't look like it's working. Auburn's already 0-for-4 from the field with a few turnovers after nearly four minutes.
9:03: Tay "with the deuce" Waller gets Auburn on the board. Still down 5-2 at the first TV timeout. I wonder if this will at all resemble the first meeting the teams had, which was a rock fight by the very definition. They combined to go 10-for-50 from 3-point range in that game.
9:05: Announcers just said Auburn is 17-1 when out-rebounding its opponents; 2-8 when it loses the battle on the boards. that's a pretty definitive stat.
9:09: Florida is 3-for-3 from 3-point range. That's a bad sign.
9:11: Make that 4-for-4. Uh-oh.
9:12: Frankie Sullivan drains Auburn's first 3. Still can't figure out how he was left off of the SEC All-Freshman team. The kid is not afraid to take a big shot at any time.
9:13: Florida 16, Auburn 13, 10:56 first half. Gators have seven rebounds, Tigers have three.
9:14: Lucas Hargrove with the foul. Jeff Lebo is not pleased, according to Brietzke. Lebo and Hargrove are one of the more entertaining duos to watch during a basketball game. At least four or five times a game, Hargrove will do something that will force Lebo to give him a disbelieving look. And at least once a game, Hargrove will make some ridiculously athletic play that brings the house down. It happens all the time. We'll be sure to point it out if it happens tonight. Right now, the official tally is Lebo bewildered moments 1, Hargrove highlight reel plays 0.
9:18: Walter Hodge with a 3. Florida's 5-for-7 from outside. You have to wonder if having already played in that cavernous arena helped them tonight.
9:19: Nick Calathes charge but the basket counts. Why is that a rule again? Shouldn't it be one or the other. Nice hustle play by Sullivan to draw the foul, by the way.
9:20: Sullivan with a ridiculous runner to get Auburn within 23-17. That's seven points for the freshman, who clearly isn't intimidated on the big stage.
9:21: Just as a post that, he launches an air ball 3 from the corner. Florida 25-17 as we head to another TV timeout.
9:23: Just checked Joe Lunardi's latest update. He's got Ohio State as a lock after beating the fighting Badgers of Wisconsin. That leaves five at-large spots left. It's getting pretty tight now.
9:28: They are letting them play, it appears. It seemed like there were a few fouls the last time down the floor that didn't get called. Florida's up 27-22 at another TV timeout.
9:31: Gotta say, Aubie and the Gator mascot are probably the top two seeds if there were to be a mascot tournament. I guess Uga would be in there too. Those three would definitely have a first-round bye.
9:33: Ooooh, spin move by Sullivan for a layup and then a block at the other end. He's all over the court tonight. He's going to be a great player for Auburn the next couple years.
9:34: TV guys just made mention that this is the first time they've seen Auburn this year, because the Tigers haven't been on television that much this year. I blame the SEC for not getting a better TV deal. I can't turn on the tube mid-week without seeing the ACC, Big Ten or Big East on TV.
9:36: Lucas with a deep 3 that doesn't go, but Sullivan gets a put-back to give him 11 points and get Auburn within 29-28.
9:37: And that's where we are at the half. 29-28 Florida. Halftime interview with Billy Donovan just said he think the Gators playing last night gave them a little advantage early on, since they were used to the environment and shooting conditions. You could also make the argument that having to play two games in two days could catch up to Florida in the second half.
9:38: Relevant halftime numbers: Florida 37.9% FG, Auburn 40.7%. Florida 5-13 on 3-pointers, Auburn 2-for-10. Florida 16 rebounds, Auburn 13. Alex Tyus has 12 points and six rebounds for the Gators, all from in close. Sullivan is pacing the Tigers with 11 points, three rebounds and a block.
9:40: Other halftime totals: Auburn's starting lineup had 12 first-half points. The bench had 16. The starters were 5-for-17 from the field. The bench was 6-for-10. The starters were 0-for-5 from 3-point range. The bench was 2-for-5. It's good that the bench is producing, but Auburn has to get more out of its starters if it hopes to pull this one out.
9:48: I've written it before, but it bears repeating. The loser of this game WILL NOT make the NCAA tournament. There's just no way. That's not saying that the winner is in necessarily, but it is basically an elimination game.
9:53: Lebo just confirmed to the courtside reporter that his team was anxious to start out and needed to settle down. No big breaking news there.
9:54: Florida just got about four offensive rebounds to get a layup. Auburn can't have any of that. It needs to lock down the defensive glass.
9:55: Tyus up to 16 points after a baby hook. Vot's having a tough time handling him on the post.
9:56: Tez stops a 6-0 Florida run with a nice three-point play in which he made the free throw and everything. He was 0-for-6 from the FT line the first time these teams met.
9:58: Barber with a stickback on his signature play, snagging a rebound and getting it back up before the defense knows what him them. Apparently he has some sort of anti-gravity attribute that allows his to get back to the ground quicker to make a second leap before anyone else. It's 35-33 Florida with 16:09 left.
10:00: And what would have been my deadline (11 p.m. EST) passes. In that respect, I'm kind of glad I'm not frantically writing at courtside right now. On the other hand, the free food they provide at these things is one of the highlights. The ACC used to hand out free Dove bars. And you wonder why sportswriters are fat and out of shape. They're providing an endless supply of ice cream confections for God's sake! You wouldn't be able to resist either.
10:03: Sullivan air balls another 3. Auburn's still down two and has not led yet tonight.
10:05: The TV scoreboard just incorrectly gave Florida credit for an Auburn basket. Wait, they just fixed it. Auburn down three with 13:25 to play.
10:07: Announcers just said Vot gets quiet double-doubles. Maybe that's why he was second team All-SEC. He just canned two free throw to get Auburn within 1. The Tigers are 7-for-8 from the line tonight.
10:08: Big momentum shift. Sullivan's layup is waved off by an offensive foul, even though a) it was a terrible call, with Calathes under the basket and b) it should have counted because released it before contact, just like earlier. The announcers pretty much said the refs blew that call. Lebo, by the way, was bug-eyed after that call.
10:09: And if you had 10:09 p.m. for your "Lebo will be described as a Dean Smith disciple" pool, you've just won.
10:11: At the 12-minute TV timeout, it's still Florida 39, Auburn 38. First one to 55 points win this thing.
10:13: Lucas just made 1-of-2 from the line to tie things up. Auburn still hasn't led.
10:14: Lucas just threw one into the seventh row of the crowd. Lebo did not look pleased. "Guess whether or not Jeff's mad at Lucas," is the Google chat from Luke. I'm going with ... yes. Final answer.
10:17: Two missed layups on the fastbreak and Auburn STILL has not led in this game. That's the Tigers' 11th chance to take the lead in this game. They're 0-for-11.
10:18: Waller 3 from the corner gives Auburn a 45-44 lead. That's Waller's first 3. He's 1-for-5 from long range. Timeout with 7:50 left.
10:20: O-A News correspondent Andrew "Gribbs" Gribble in a shameless bid to get on the blog informs us that Waller's 3 silenced the crowd. "An odd scene for a conf tourney," he Google chatted.
10:21: 47-46 Auburn after another Waller 3 with 7:08 to play. Tim Brando goes to commercial by saying Waller is lathered up. I haven't the slightest clue what that means, but I'm going to guess it's good.
10:24: Tez misses the front end of a 1-and-1. Can't afford that.
10:25: Vot tip-in and a Hargrove layup gives Auburn a five-point lead with 6:34 left. I've consulted with Gribbs about whether that would be a Zombie Nation momentum shifting moment and I'm waiting for a response. I think it qualifies.
10:27: Gribbs' response: "Definitely." Glad we cleared that up.
10:29: Hargrove with a runner pushes the lead back to five before Tyus gets a putback and gets a foul on Barber. Florida gets within two with the free throw. 4:11 to play.
10:30: Calathes must missed a 3 that would have been the rare Reverse Zombie Nation. Instead Auburn still lead 53-51 with 3:46 left. Brietzke, hoping to get another mention, informs us that Calathes has been "awful" the last four games. He's 3-for-13 tonight and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Luke also correctly points out that Calathes was the difference in the first game, scoring 17 points and making three late free throws to seal the win. Hat tip to the Anniston Star there.
10:34: Rasheem makes 1-of-2 from the line to make it a three-point game.
10:35: Calathes has finished with 11, 5, 11 and 5 points his last four games, by the way.
10:36: Hargrove just nailed a 3 when Lebo was trying to get a timeout. Good thing he didn't. 57-53 Auburn with 1:51 left. Waller at the free throw line.
10:37: Syracuse is playing in overtime, by the way. Some basketball higher power has a cruel sense of humor.
10:39: Settle in folks. 58-55 Auburn with 1:33 left and the teams have a combined five timeouts remaining.
10:40: Sullivan has to heave up a prayer at the shot clock buzzer. Still a three-point play with a minute to go.
10:41: Auburn avoids getting fouled, Speed Reed drives and dishes to Vot for the dunk! What a clutch play. Donovan wanted the foul, and probably should considering how the Tigers shoot free throws. Big play for Auburn to get free from the defenders and get the basket. Five-point game with 25 seconds left.
10:42: Hodge rattles in a 3-pointer that must have hit the rim six times. 60-58 Auburn with 14.2 seconds to play. Onions shot on his part.
10:44: Sullivan hits the first free throw to make it a three-point game with 13.4 seconds to go. Florida calls a TO to ice him.
10:46: No good on the second.
10:46: Tez with the block on a game-tying 3! Auburn wins 61-58. "This is one of the great blocked shots that we have ever seen with the game on the line in the SEC tournament," Brandon exclaims, lessening the compliment with every word of his statement.
10:48: Tez's final line: 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 big block.
10:49: What does this mean? Well, that should wrap things up for Florida's NCAA hopes. Auburn's not in yet, but it's still in the discussion, which is all it can ask for at this point. Big game against Tennessee tomorrow. Tip-off is 3:15 p.m. EST.
10:50: Lebo was pleased with his defense throughout, seemed very proud to single out Tez. "I think really we've been ignored the whole time," Lebo said. "You can't ignore what we've done. You can't ignore how we've played."
10:53: Let's recap tonight's leaders:
- Sullivan: 12 points, 3 rebounds
- Barber: 12 points, 10 rebounds (another double-double, shocking!)
- Hargrove: 11 points, 5 rebounds
- Waller: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2-for-7 3-pointers
- FG%: Florida 36.1% (22-61), Auburn 445 (22-50)
- 3-point: Florida 8-for-25, Auburn 6-for-20
- Rebounds: Florida 36, Auburn 33
- Blocks: Auburn 6, Florida 2
- Free throws: Auburn 11-18, Florida 6-10
- Calathes: 3-for-13, 11 points, 1-for-6 3-point
1 comment:
WARRRRR EAGLE!!
What a game!
Post a Comment