Sorry for the late notice on this, but we're going to try something new at the Ledger-Enquirer (at least for me) and have a live chat Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. EDT (noon central) to discuss Auburn athletics.

This is just a guess, but I think most of it will focus on football.

Here's a link to the chat or if you'd like to submit questions ahead of time.

(UPDATE: I'm not sure how the submitting questions function works. Apparently, you have to do it once the chat starts. Do not be dissuaded. Please arrive at 1 p.m. EDT and fire away with all the questions you've got.)

I encourage any and all to show up.

The threat of inclement weather postponed Tuesday's practice to Wednesday evening, but we still got to speak with players beforehand.

Here are the highlights:

• Quarterback Kodi Burns is learning his third offense in as many years. Here's what he had to say about it: "It does kind of get confusing. You kind of revert to your old habits a little bit, not thinking right, and that's what coach (Gus) Malzahn said that he wants to get all the old stuff out of us if he can, if there's any left, he just wants to program us to run his offense, and then after he programs us to do that, then we can be ourselves and I can do what I do best to run the offense."

• We got some more insight about the numbers associated with the offensive numbers in Malzahn's system. Receiver Quindarius Carr was nice enough to inform us the numbers 9 and 2 are basically the X and Z receivers (outside receivers). The 5 is the slot receiver (formerly the Y). The 3 is an H-back position (think Mario Fannin) and the 4 is as close to a regular running back as there is (think Ben Tate).

• I wrote an Eltoro Freeman story for tomorrow's paper, but here's a sneak peek: Stevens likened him to Tray Blackmon, which is a good thing considering he was praising The Bull's aggressiveness and willingness to smack someone. Bynes likes the sophomore's enthusiasm, even if he has to tell him to slow down on occasion. "He's fired up every day," Bynes said. "He said, 'That's how I am.' I say, 'I ain't gonna knock your hustle down.' Anyway you got to have a good day at practice, you do it. No matter if you've got to do backflips out here or something. Anyway for him to have a good day at practice, I'm all in for it."

• Linebacker Craig Stevens has earned some early distinction this spring, being recognized by defensive coordinator Ted Roof on a couple of occasions. "I’ve just been going out trying to work hard every day – doing drills full speed, try not to take a play off and just get better every day," Stevens said. "I guess he just noticed that."

• Stevens said he can tell Roof is a linebackers guy. "Oh yeah," Stevens said. "When he gets out there and is teaching us those drills, it’s like he forgot he was coaching out there. He tries to go full speed out there – he’s out there jamming us and stuff. He’s about to hurt us."

• Bynes had similar thoughts: "Look at him. He looks like a linebacker. He's got the big legs, big upper body. From working with him, he's been a very very good coach and he's doing the things possible to get us better on defense as linebackers. He wants us more physical and get us instead of just being there and being a guy getting blocked. It's about us making an impression on the offense that 'Yeah, we're going to come at you hard and come at you fast and come at you physical on every play.'"

• Some sad news to report: Paul Davis, who was an assistant coach at Auburn from 1967-80 and 1987-89, died at the age of 87 on Tuesday. Davis was Shug Jordan’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach from 1967-75. He later served on the staffs of Doug Barfield and Pat Dye. In 17 years with Auburn, Davis coached seven All-Americans and participated in nine bowl games.

• Converted tight end Vance Smith is enjoying life on the offensive line, working at both tackle positions to give Auburn some much-needed depth. Smith decided to make the switch in the offseason (he says it was his choice). After playing last year at 240 pounds, he's up to 260 right now, with a goal of gaining two pounds a week to be at 290 by the end of fall camp. Happy eating, Vance!

• One offensive line member who is not gaining weight is Mike "Big Snacks" Berry, the heaviest of the linemen at 313 pounds. Berry says he's "just staying" at his current weight, trying to keep in that 310-to-315-pound range.

• Berry is working at left guard and center as a backup to Ryan Pugh. Byron Isom has been working at right guard.

• Berry said offensive line coach Jeff Grimes has a calmer approach to instructing his linemen than former coach Hugh Nall, a longtime Tommy Tuberville assistant who is now the CEO of a trucking business in Albany, Ga. "He’s a lot more supportive," Berry said of Grimes. "Nall was going to get after you. That’s just the type of guy he was. You gotta love that. Grimes, I would say, is more balanced. He’s a pretty easy-going guy. He’s going to coach you hard but he knows how far to go." Has Berry seen Grimes chew anyone out? "Not for real," he said. "Not the Nall way. Having Hugh Nall for three years, I’ve not seen him do that."

Auburn’s DeWanna Bonner was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Bonner, who was previously named to ESPN.com’s first team, helped the Tigers to a 30-4 record and their first SEC regular season title since 1989, averaging 21.1 points per game to earn SEC Player of the Year honors.

The senior broke the school’s all-time scoring record during the SEC tournament, finishing her career with 2,162 points.

Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, Connecticut’s Maya Moore, Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, Maryland’s Kristi Toliver and Connecticut’s Renee Montgomery made the first team.

Stanford’s Jayne Appel, Maryland’s Marissa Coleman, Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender and Connecticut’s Tina Charles joined Bonner on the second team.

So much for any Jeff Lebo-to-Virginia Commonwealth University talk. The Rams hired Florida assistant Shaka Smart to be their new head coach, according to multiple reports.

Lebo's name came up shortly after Anthony Grant left VCU to become the head coach at Alabama. VCU athletic director Norwood Teague, a North Carolina alum, put Lebo's name on a list of four candidates he was considering for the job.

VCU never made contact with Auburn, athletic director Jay Jacobs said Sunday.

Here's some video of interviews done Sunday. It's got defensive coordinator Ted Roof, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, linebacker Eltoro Freeman (check out the guns!), guard Byron Isom and running backs Onterio McCalebb and Ben Tate.

Plus, here's a link to my newspaper story today about the offensive line. A lot of stuff I've covered here on the blog, but now it's in story form.

Enjoy.

Ben Tate might not be the fastest running back on the Auburn roster, an honor that goes to speedy Hargrave Military Academy transfer Onterio McCalebb, but he’s tired of being pigeonholed as the team’s power back.

“Some people always tell me when I run, I never look fast,” Tate said. “I’m like, ‘Really? Well race me.’”

The 5-foot-11, 217-pound Tate ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash when the team was timed before Auburn’s pro day. That’s just as fast as tailback Mario Fannin, who is largely considered by outsiders to be the speedier of the two.

Tate, who puts himself among the fastest players on the team along with defensive backs Walt McFadden, Neiko Thorpe and Harry Adams, thinks it’s his longer stride that makes him look slow.

“Most of the guys on our team think I’m fast,” Tate said. “But everybody else, they be like, ‘I don’t know.’”

Tate ran for 664 rushing yards last season, a disappointing dropoff after he put up 903 yards and eight touchdowns in 2007. So far, he’s drawn strong praise. Running backs coach Curtis Luper thinks he can be a 1,000-yard back. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn likes what he’s seen in the early going.

“He has that physical edge,” Malzahn said, “that mentality that we’re looking for.”

While Tate is quick to point out his speed, he still won’t go up in any direct competition against McCalebb, who was clocked at 4.3 seconds in the 40.

Some other quotes and notes ...

• Malzahn said the team should have the majority of its base offense installed by the end of next week.

• Malzahn, on the offense so far: "We’ve thrown a lot at them. We’re not only throwing a lot at them, we’re throwing a pace at them in that they have to recover. It usually takes a couple of weeks where they can actually recover, and mentally being able to recover for the next play. We’re putting a lot of stress on them. We’re straining them right now. We’ll keep after them."

• Malzahn singled out wide receiver Tim Hawthorne having made a couple of good catches Sunday.

• Tate, on putting last season behind him: "January passed and I was like, 'It's over with. I've got to work harder than I did before.'"

• Fannin was wearing a protective walking boot Sunday. He turned an ankle in practice Saturday and hopes to be back on the field later this week.

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof singled out junior outside linebacker Craig Stevens for the second straight day. “Funny how it keeps happening, huh?” Roof said. “He’s very coachable. He’s a salty veteran.”

• Add guard Byron Isom to the bulked-up offensive lineman club. The junior is up to 300 pounds, a 15-pound increase from last year. He’d like to be at 305 for the season.

• We got to talk to junior college transfer Eltoro Freeman for the first time today. Very entertaining interview. He talked to us about the non-contact drills, which, if you saw the size of Freeman's biceps, you'd understand why he doesn't like them. "Those backs, they try to shake you and keep running," he said. "When they're supposed to be down, they keep running like they scored a 100-yard touchdown or whatever. But then when you get in full pads, you get a chance to stop that."

• I plan to do a feature on Da Bull at some point, but he said he never wavered on Auburn, even during its down period last year. "When I signed with Auburn University in 2007, I didn't sign with no coaches. (Tommy) Tuberville wasn't on my scholarship, coach (James) Willis wasn't on my scholarship. Auburn University was on my scholarship. So when I didn't qualify, Auburn, they didn't drop me, they still kept in contact, they still kept on encouraging me. When Auburn had a down season, I sat back and thought about that, they were with me when I was down, so I decided to stick with them when they were down. Plus, it's a great place. I wouldn't want to be nowhere else."

• Another good tidbit on Freeman: he wears No. 21 to honor his his football-playing first cousin, Onterio Harrell, a high school teammate of Terrell Owens. Harrell died of cancer at age 24. "Everywhere I go I've been having it," Freeman said. "So that's been a blessing for me."

• Lots of great stuff from McCalebb, which I'm going to turn into a feature for Wednesday's paper. Short version: this kid has persevered through a pretty tough upbringing in Fort Meade, Fla., to get to where he's at, going through a military prep school in Virginia before getting to Auburn. Very impressive. I hope the story can do it justice.

AUBURN, Ala. — Banished to the locker room an inning earlier following his ejection, John Pawlowski sat alone as his team’s bullpen struggled to hold a five-run ninth-inning lead.

Was he listening?

“I was hoping,” the first-year Auburn coach said. “I was hoping to hear the crowd cheering.”

He finally did when reliever Austin Hubbard induced a ground out to end Vanderbilt’s furious rally in Auburn’s wild 11-10 victory at Plainsman Park on Sunday.

Aided by a hitter’s friendly wind that was blowing out to all fields, the Tigers (18-9, 4-5 SEC) smacked five home runs to take the rubber match of a three-game series, bouncing back from a sweep against Arkansas last weekend.

“We didn’t play real well (last weekend), but this league is about getting up off the mat,” Pawlowski said. “You’re going to get knocked down and you’ve get to get back up and you’ve got to get back up and fight.”

Quick thoughts ...

• Trent Mummey, Kevin Patterson, Brian Fletcher, Justin Hargett and Hunter Morris all went deep, Auburn’s third game this season with at least five home runs.

• The Tigers have already matched last year’s home run total with 58. With 29 games left on the schedule, they are 29 shy of the school record.

• Starter Taylor Thompson (2-1) gave Auburn exactly what it needed in a third starter. The right-hander went five innings in his first conference start, giving up four runs on six hits. The junior struck out four and left the game with a 7-2 lead.

• Nice argument by Pawlowski on a weird play in the eighth. Vandy failed on a squeeze play and two runners got caught up on third. Catcher Tony Caldwell tagged one and then other once he strolled of the bag for an apparent double play. The umps convened and said that only one of them was out. Pawlowski went nuts, arguing the play for several minutes. He took off his hat, waved it frantically and slammed it to the ground after third base umpire Kevin Sanders finally ejected him. Honestly, I think the umps got the call right, but Pawlowski had been festering since a bad call from Saturday and was probably looking to get tossed.

• Oh, that Auburn bullpen. Hubbard gave up four runs in the ninth to make it a one-run game before finally shutting the door. When the wind blows out at Plainsman Park, no lead is safe.

• Auburn plays next at South Alabama on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

The Tigers men's swimming and diving team won its eighth national championship in College Station, Texas, late last night. Auburn finished with 526 points to Texas' 487. The Tigers trailed by six points heading into the final day but rallied for the win.

That's Auburn's sixth national title in the last seven years. The Tigers also have championships in 1997, '99 and from 2003-07.

The school's eight national titles are tied for fifth all time, behind Michigan (11), Ohio State (11), Southern California (9), Texas (9) and Stanford (9).

Coach Richard Quick, who was forced to take a leave from the team midseason after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, now has 13 national titles in his illustrious career, more than any other coach in NCAA swimming and diving history. He is the first coach to win national titles at three different schools, having won seven at Stanford and five at Texas. Quick was not in College Station, so the Tigers were led by assistant Brett Hawke.

Individually, Kohlton Norys and Matt Targett won four NCAA titles each. Norys took the team's lone individual title, winning the 100 backstroke. The Tigers won three relay titles.

Auburn set three U.S. Open, three NCAA and 17 school records at the meet.

Hey all, I've got another new video following Saturday's practice.

This one's got Gene Chizik (briefly, because my batteries ran out), offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, defensive coordinator Ted Roof, wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis and center Ryan Pugh.

Enjoy. More blog action tomorrow after practice, so check back.

After being swept by Arkansas last weekend, the Auburn baseball team was desperate for a chance simply to win a series.

The Tigers’ 5-3 win against Vanderbilt at Plainsman Park on Saturday guarantees they’ll get that opportunity today.

Brian Fletcher and Ben Jones homered, Jon Luke Jacobs pitched into the seventh and the bullpen actually held a lead as Auburn (17-9, 3-5 SEC) ended a four-game losing streak in the conference.

“We didn’t play very well (Friday) night and I told our guys it’s important today to get back even, to get back to square one,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said, “which means we have to go out and play better baseball and execute.”

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Strong outing by Jacobs, who went 6 2/3, giving up three runs on eights hits. He struck out six to pick up his third win of the season. He still doesn't have a loss. “I thought he went out there and established the zone early in the game and did a great job for us,” Pawlowski said. “I thought that was the difference today.”

• Auburn's bats showed up, a day after a five-hit power outage in a 12-3 loss Friday night. Fletcher and Jones both hit homers. Jones' in the sixth proved to be the difference. “I was looking fastball and he gave me a changeup, and I just kind of happened to run into it,” he said.

• Nice piece of hitting by Hunter Morris early in the third inning. Vanderbilt used a shift against the lefty but couldn't completely move the entire infield to the right side because there was a runner on second who would have easily stolen third if the third baseman wasn't in his usual spot. With two strikes, Morris grounded a ball where the third baseman would have been in a usual shift, getting it to the outfield for an RBI single.

• The bullpen looked like it might have a repeat performance after Bradley Hendrix gave up an RBI single on the second pitch he threw in the seventh to get Vanderbilt within 5-3. But Hendrix buckled down, striking out three in his two innings and pitching around trouble. He couldn't quite finish it, but Austin Hubbard struck out Curt Casali, the only batter he faced, to strand two runners in the ninth and pick up his fourth save.

• Rubber match today at 2 p.m. EDT. Vanderbilt (17-9, 3-5 SEC) will pitch right-hander Nick Christiani (3-0, 4.78 ERA). Auburn doesn't know yet, although it will probably be Dexter Price (3-0, 4.68), Taylor Thompson (1-1, 8.38 ERA) or Paul Burnside (0-2, 6.53).

We were shut out from watching Saturday's practice, and thank goodness, since the weather didn't look so pleasant out there and I had no intention of standing in the rain.

We found out afterward that Auburn was in pads for the first time and did some physical drills, although not nearly physical enough if you asked the coaches.

“I thought at times, we showed signs of being physical, but we certainly didn’t make a habit of it today, which was obviously what we have to get back to,” head coach Gene Chizik said.

The Tigers did some 11-on-11 work and made a game of it. If the offense got four yards or more, it won the play. If the defense held the offense to three yards or less, it won the play. (I guess there was a tie if it was 3 1/2 yards). The defense apparently ruled the day.

“We actually did some good things and got past the chains, then we kind of lost the momentum,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "When you’re rotating that many people, there’s going to be some bad. The good thing from a coach’s standpoint is we get to evaluate our guys. We get to see where they’re at. When you’re in evaluation stages, you’ve got to be patient. I’m not very patient, but I’ve got to be.”

On to some notes and quotes ...

• Kodi Burns and Neil Caudle worked with the ones at quarterback Saturday. Barrett Trotter worked with the twos. Chris Todd continued to watch because of his shoulder. The coaches say it's a wide-open race, but it appears there are at least two early frontrunners.

• Malzahn liked going up against a defense for the first time. "It's great when you're out there in helmets to evaluate, but there's nothing like when those live bullets are coming at you and the speed," he said. "That's when you see some separation sometimes. I'm not saying anything specific, but now we can start really evaluating a little more than we can in just helmets."

• Despite the fact that they are installing a new offense, the coaches aren't very forgiving for mistakes, which have been plentiful this spring. "We’re not where we should be yet," Caudle said. "Coach Malzahn said we made a lot of mistakes today. We’ve got to get that better and get in the film room and get in the playbooks. We’ve got to be perfect – especially in 7-on-7s when there’s no line rush or anything. We’ve got to make perfect throws."

• Burns said running back Ben Tate had a good day in the 11-on-11. A few days back, running backs coach Curtis Luper said Tate will be a 1,000-yard back.

• Hargrave Military Academy transfer Onterio McCalebb has impressed coaches with his speed. Sounds like he and Mario Fannin will be the Tigers' Swiss Army knives next year, doing a bit of everything. "We're moving him around," Chizik said. "He's such a skillful guy in the open field right now, he's a tailback some, he's a wideout some, he's a reverse guy some. He's going to wear a lot of different hats."

• Spoke to Philip Pierre-Louis for the first time this spring and wideout said he's feeling as good as he's felt after missing last year because of an ACL tear. He's still limited in practice, wearing an orange jersey, meaning he's not allowed to take any contact. He's wearing a brace on his right knee but said he isn't restricted by it. "Sometimes I forget I'm even wearing the brace," he said.

• Malzahn doesn't seem put off by Pierre-Louis' size (5-8, 157): "A lot of people say little guys can't be receivers, but I always look at it, 'What's their range?' I've seen some little guys in the past that had great range and they played like a big receiver. He's been a little banged up, so it's really hard to evaluate completely. He's got some quickness and some miss-ability."

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said linebackers Josh Bynes, Spencer Pybus and Craig Stevens are working with the first team. Eltoro Freeman, Wade Christopher and Da’Shaun Barnes are with the second group.

• Some guys Roof was impressed with early: Stevens, defensive tackle Mike Blanc and safeties Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil.

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba isn’t the only offensive lineman who has packed on the pounds. Center Ryan Pugh is up to 290 pounds after playing last year at 270. “Carrying it is a lot more heavy," he said. "Using it helps out a lot because the guy across from you is going to be 300-plus everywhere you go. You'll catch a guy that's a little smaller but he's going to be pretty quick. But putting that weight on definitely helps as far as being able to get leverage, especially because I'm short already so I need a little more weight, put a little more lead in my pencil, but as far as putting on weight, I think it's helped us across the board."

Virginia Commonwealth athletic director Norwood Teague has Auburn basketball coach Jeff Lebo on his short list of candidates to replace Anthony Grant, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Grant was hired to be Alabama's head coach yesterday, agreeing to a contract that will pay him around $2 million a season.

So what to make of all this? Well, it's Saturday morning, and the athletic complex is generally vacant this time of the week, so any kind of comment regarding the situation might be tough to get today.

These questions have to be asked:

Q: What's the connection?
A: Teague is a 1988 North Carolina graduate who later worked in the athletic department for some time. Lebo, as you may have heard a time or two, starred at North Carolina from 1986-89.

Q: Who else is on the list?
A: Glad you asked. Here's it is:

• VCU assistant Tony Pujol (0 years head coaching experience)
• Florida assistant Shaka Smart (0 years head coaching experience)
• Texas assistant Russell Springmann (0 years head coaching experience)
• Lebo (11 years head coaching experience, 80-76 record in five years at Auburn)

Q: Huh?
A: Exactly. One of these things is not like the other. Lebo doesn't fit the profile of coaches VCU has gone after in the past (Grant, Jeff Capel), up-and-coming assistants who are going to shine for a couple years and move on to something bigger.

I've got to think this is just an old friend helping Lebo leverage a better contract. That's how the game is played. Remember, Lebo's only making $785,00 a year. That doesn't look so hot in the wake of Grant's $2 million a year windfall. Otherwise, this doesn't make much sense. Auburn is one year away from moving into a plush, new arena. VCU, while a good mid-major, doesn't have nearly the facilities Auburn will in a year. Plus, Lebo would be moving from the SEC to the Colonial Athletic Association. Not a step up.

There's also the matter of the buyout on Lebo's contract, which goes through 2013. It would cost $1.5 million for him to get out of it. That's a lot of cash for a school like VCU to pony up, considering it was only paying Grant $700,000 a year.

I can't imagine this goes anywhere, but we'll stay on top of it. The VCU AD said he wants someone in place by Thursday, so if anything happens, it will be quick.

AUBURN, Ala. — Ahead by three and with ace Grant Dayton on the mound, Auburn couldn’t have asked for a much better opportunity to snap a three-game SEC slide Friday.

Four catastrophic innings later and the Tigers’ early surge was nothing but a footnote in another ugly loss.

Dayton gave up four sixth-inning runs and the bullpen imploded as Vanderbilt battered Auburn pitchers for 22 hits in a 12-3 victory at Plainsman Park. It was the most hits the Tigers allowed all season.

“I’m disappointed by the way we lost,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said.

That’s four straight home conference losses for the Tigers (16-9, 2-5 SEC), who were swept by Arkansas last weekend.

“We have to learn how to play baseball better,” Pawlowski said. “Right now, we are just not playing good baseball and doing little things.”

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Not a bad outing for Dayton (2-3), who threw five scoreless innings before a mess of a sixth. He lost his second straight decision for the first time in his career, giving up four runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out four.

• While it's odd to look at one play in a nine-run loss, Auburn didn't help Dayton out in the sixth defensively. After Andrew Giobbi hit an RBI single to left to get Vanderbilt on the board, he tried to advance to second on the throw to the plate as Aaron Westlake retreated to the base. But catcher Tony Caldwell sailed his throw into center field. Instead of getting one guaranteed out, both runners came around to score on the error, tying the game at 3.

• Auburn's bullpen is abysmal. There's no other word for it. The Commodores scored eight runs in the final three innings. Seventeen of their 22 hits came in the final four innings. It was the most the Tigers' pitching staff had allowed all season.

• Very pedestrian night at the plate for Auburn, which managed only five hits off Vandy starter Mike Minor (2-2). Minor struck out 11, fanning nine of the first 15 batters he faced. Remember, this is a pitcher who had an 0-2 record and 5.56 ERA in his first two SEC starts.

• The teams play again today at 4 p.m. EDT, weather permitting. Jon Luke Jacobs (2-0, 4.97 ERA) takes the mound for Auburn against Vanderbilt's Caleb Cotham (3-2, 3.90).

We're back with some more video. There's one of what Auburn actually did during its practice Thursday in the post below. This one's of interviews afterward, including defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, safeties coach Tommy Thigpen, right tackle Andrew McCain and left tackle Lee Ziemba.

Enjoy.

No practice today, but here are a couple items I wrote for today's paper.

The first is on quarterback Chris Todd and his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. I kind of feel for Todd. He came here specifically to run Tony Franklin's system, he was never healthy when doing so and Franklin wasn't really ever given a shot to run his offense the way he saw fit. Now Todd is in a quarterback battle in which he can't yet fully participate. But he seems in good spirits about the whole thing, just thankful that he finally got something done about his ailing shoulder.

Second, here are some notes from Thursday's practice. Lee Ziemba has bulked up from 280 pounds to 308, Phillip Lolley will coach cornerbacks while Tommy Thigpen coaches safeties and everybody is getting used to each other early in practice.

Also, here's some video from Thursday's practice, the last one open to the media for about a week. A couple things struck me:

• I thought Auburn would limit itself to stretching and other useless drills for the open media sessions, but to its credit, it was out there doing some meaningful stuff, especially the offense, which ran through a hurry-up offense at one point.

• That said, I don't understand the fear of reporters being there. I could understand if Gene Chizik didn't allow video (in fact, I'm kind of surprised that he did), but to allow reporters and fans to watch as the team goes through a series of drills seems harmless. Now, if he wanted to close portions where the Tigers actually installed the offense, fine. But I think portions of practice should be open to the fans who are interested enough to watch the team. It would also add some color to our stories, which, admittedly, are going to be based a lot on what the coaches tell us for the remainder of spring, which you always have to take with a grain of salt.

• I'd like to point out that the life of a kicker/punter is a sweet one. If you don't agree, watch the clip of them practicing (by themselves it should be noted) compared to the rest of the groups.

• Some thoughts about the coaches, some of which you'll see in the video:

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, as expected, is the most entertaining to watch. He gets vocal throughout practice, and the snap count drill that's on the video is one of the best portions.

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof did an interesting drill with the linebackers, having them duck under a tarp while picking their feet up over pads that served as speed bumps. Watch him interact with Eltoro Freeman (No. 21) to get the junior college transfer to loosen up his hips before doing the drill. It's hilarious. Also, after I stopped filming, he had a great line about staying low to the ground, telling his guys to "get in love with Mother Earth."

• Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was another fun one to watch. He too was doing a visual snap drill, while calling out fake snap counts and wiggling the ball around on the ground with a stick. I'd like to see Rocker during the contact portion of the drill. That'd be entertaining.

• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is calm and collect all the time, but always talking. He seems to take a very cerebral approach to the quarterbacks, which I guess isn't too out of character for him.

• I didn't have any film of Chizik for the day, mostly because he was overseeing a lot of stuff, and that made for boring video. He did step in on some special teams work, but it was mostly instructional. No action, so it didn't make the cut.

Anyway, enjoy. I hope to have another video up later of some player interviews, so check back.

John Cooper, who has been Jeff Lebo's top assistant the last five years, will be named head basketball coach at Tennessee State today, an Auburn spokesman confirmed. Fox News first reported the story.

Cooper has been with the Tigers for five years. The 40-year-old was an assistant coach at South Carolina under Eddie Fogler from 1995-2001 and at Oregon from 2002-04 before taking the Auburn job.

He and Lebo were assistants at South Carolina at the same time from 1995-98.

Cooper replaces Cy Alexander, who was fired Feb. 6 after going 67-107 in six seasons at Tennessee State.

UPDATE with quotes from an Auburn press release:

Cooper: "First of all, it is a lifelong dream and a lifelong journey. As I think about it, I am so grateful for one having the opportunity to come to Auburn and having been allowed to grow as a coach and given the opportunity by Jeff. Two, when I informed the team I told them that without them, without the year they had and what they did, I wouldn't have been given this opportunity.

"Friends never say goodbye. Friends say until we meet again, and we leave a lot of friends here. I am really enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity. My goal is to obviously be successful, but also to put a product on the court that Tennessee State University is proud of, and one that is successful both on and off the court. In the future, we want to be able to say that we competed for championships in the OVC and hopefully say that we have won championships."

Lebo: "I am real excited for John to get this first opportunity to be a head basketball coach at Tennessee State. He certainly has been an integral part of our program for the last five years. Tennessee State is getting a class act, and we all will miss him and wish him nothing but the best."

Day 2 of spring practice is in the books and the rain held off for Auburn, which was in shorts and helmets again as it ran through a variety of drills and continued to install its offensive and defensive schemes Thursday.

Both players and coaches have tried to remind themselves that getting used to each other and the system the coaches are trying to implement, will take time.

“I woke up (Wednesday) and I had that look on my face, that frown,” defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “My wife said, ‘Hey, remember it was the first day.’ You can’t build a house in a day. It takes work. You know that.

“But a lot of times we want that microwave success. I understand that process, but everyday we’ve got to get better and approach practice with the right state of mind.”

The Tigers will take the field again Saturday (weather permitting) and might even do some scrimmaging, if they're ready for that.

"Well we’ve just got to see how far along we are," head coach Gene Chizik said. "Obviously if we scrimmage, we certainly don’t want it to be a sloppy situation. We have to be ready to do that."

We reporters got to see about 30 minutes of Thursday's practice, and I've got some video of drills that I'll get up on the blog tomorrow, so check back for that.

In the interim, here are some news and notes from the day:

• Chizik split up the secondary duties with Phillip Lolley coaching cornerbacks and Tommy Thigpen coaching safeties. Lolley coached corners with Chizik as defensive cornerback from 2002-03. Thigpen has a linebacker background but has worked in the secondary as well.

• Thigpen, on why he came to Auburn from his alma mater, North Carolina: "I had to look at it. You have to look at Auburn football. Mack Brown told me that. Gene Chizik told me to look back in history at the great coaches who have come out of here. If you want to make better on your career, Auburn is a serious job. I heard that from so many different guys. I want to be at a place where football is really, really important. This place? It’s unbelievable. When you talk to coaches (all over) the country, they told me you’ve got to go. It’s one of the best jobs in all of America.”

• Right tackle Andrew McCain, on this year's offense vs. last year's: "The chaos is much more controlled."

• Lots of good stuff today on Chizik and Co. laying down some new rules for the athletic center. I'm going to write more in detail of that for Sunday's paper, so I'm holding some of my better material for that, but basically, there are are no hats, jewelry or spikes in the athletic center. Plus, lockers have to be neat all the time. Coaches are coming around checking. From someone like Chizik, who is very aware of how he is dressed and appears at all times, this is not surprising.

• Left tackle Lee Ziemba has bulked up to 308 pounds from 280 last year. How did he do it? By eating 5,000 calories a day. Was it hard? "Not anymore,” he said. “It was at first. I made myself sick a few times.”

• Sophomore Mike Slade was working with the first team alongside Zac Etheridge at safety for part of Thursday. Mike McNeil had class.

We only get to talk to quarterbacks twice a week, so naturally it was feeding frenzy Tuesday with all four in the interview room after the first practice.

Here's a video in which Kodi Burns, Chris Todd, Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter give us their thoughts about Gus Malzahn's offense and what it's like running it.

Enjoy.

Hoo-boy, that was a busy day. Between the Auburn basketball team losing in the final seconds of its NIT semifinal to Baylor to the Tigers opening spring practice, it felt like we were running ragged all night.

I hope to get some video up tomorrow in addition to some more material, but in the interim, here's something to tide you over. (Also, how sweet is that Todd Van Emst photo?)

First, some housekeeping:

• Auburn named Wayne Bolt its Director of Football Relations. Bolt is a former Tigers assistant under Pat Dye who worked as Gene Chizik's defensive coordinator at Iowa State the last seasons. His 31-year coaching career has included stops at East Carolina, Wyoming, Clemson, Troy and UAB. Twenty-one of his 31 years have been in the state of Alabama.

• Lots going on at the tight end position. Brent Slusher is on a medical hardship and is not listed on the roster. Vance Smith has moved to offensive line, where the Tigers are short on numbers. He'll moved around to all the positions, depending on where Auburn needs him. Gabe McKenzie was not practicing but is on the team. He is dealing with some undisclosed injuries, Chizik said. Tommy Trott, meanwhile, is not going through contact or cutting at 100 percent this spring after having major knee reconstruction in November.
  

• Aairon Savage is back at cornerback after missing last year with a torn ACL suffered in training camp. He seemed in good spirits and should make for a very good story this spring.

Now for some of the quotes of the night:

• Chizik, on why he closed practice to the fans and media this spring: "I think there's enough pressure on these guys already to deliver. We just feel like this is a deal where we don't want any outside or any extra pressure on these guys. We just want them to go out and practice and not worry about what anybody thinks or writes or hears."

• Quarterback Kodi Burns, on Gus Malzahn's offense compared to Tony Franklin's: "The biggest difference is tempo. We're really going to actually run that tempo."

• Quarterback Neil Caudle, on Malzahn as a teacher: "He's constantly coaching. If you run into him in the hallway, he'll coach you on something, so it helps a lot."

• Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, on how well offensive tackle Lee Ziemba moved just a few months after surgery: "I didn’t see any question marks whatsoever in terms of his ability to move around or keep going. I saw no limping or any hesitation."

• Savage, on his knee injury last August: "Just a bad dream, man, to sum it all up. It was just a bad dream. We worked so hard the offseason just to be in the position that we were in. For things to happen how they happened, it was hard.

• Quarterback Chris Todd, on how much his shoulder (now repaired through surgery) affected him last year: "I knew something was wrong all the time. There were throws that I could make my sophomore year of high school that I couldn't necessarily make all the time last year."

• Defensive end Antonio Coleman, on what it was like practicing without the usually boisterous duo of Sen'Derrick Marks and Tez Doolittle: "I try to keep it loud out there, but they're clowns, so it's quieter than it usually is when they were here."

• Trott, on what Dr. James Andrews did to repair his knee: "It was a complete ACL. They took out my patella and repaired my ACL using that tendon. Also, they had to stitch back up my MCL. I had a partial tear over there and they had to shave my meniscus back. So they got my knee pretty good."

• Trott, on learning to walk again: "I could not walk on it to save my life. It was almost a month. Finally they just took my crutches from me and said, 'You know, you're going to have to learn to walk if you want to go anywhere."

Auburn’s hopes of reaching the NIT semifinals for the first time in its history ended in a New York minute Tuesday night.

Rasheem Barrett’s 3-pointer at the horn drifted left and long, bouncing high off the rim and into the arms of a Baylor defender as the Bears cemented a thrilling 74-72 victory at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to advance to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals in New York City.

Baylor (23-14) will play against the winner of San Diego State and St. Mary’s at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

“Any time you have a game you lose by two points, that hurts more than losing by 30,” said Barrett, a senior who scored a team-high 16 points in his final college game.

LaceDarius Dunn scored a game-high 19 points and Curtis Jerrells added 16 for the Bears, who won their first postseason game in 59 years last week and have reeled off victories in six of their last seven.

The loss ended a season in which Auburn (24-12) tied for the second most wins in school history and made the postseason for the first time in the Jeff Lebo era, ending a five-year drought.

“That’s why basketball is so hard in tournament play,” Lebo said. “Most teams leave the court with a loss and it’s hard. It’s not like a bowl game where half the teams win. So it’s always hard on the seniors because you always leave with that disappointment.”

We're kind of short on time following Gene Chizik's pre-spring press conference because of the NIT quarterfinals taking place this evening at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, so here's an unedited video version of Chizik.

Enjoy.

I know, I know, cliche blog headline. But it's here, folks. It's finally here. After months and months of waiting to see how smoothly Gene Chizik's first few weeks on the field will actually go as the Tigers install their offensive and defensive schemes ... we still won't really know.

That's because practice is closed to fans and practically shut off to the media, save for three 25-minute sessions (one of which happens to be smack dab in the middle of tonight's NIT basketball game, which I'll be attending).

So will we get some material from this spring? Yes. Will we know everything they tell us is the truth. Well, no. But it's March. Hope spring eternal on the football field in March. Everybody's undefeated. So I wouldn't expect a much different tone to the stories that come out of the spring even if we were able to watch the practices. We'd just be able to add a little more color for our readers, which as far as I can tell has never submarined a football team's ability to win on the field, even if that's what every football coach in the country thinks will happen.

But I digress.

ANYWAY, I wrote a five questions story about the spring in today's paper that I can't find online, so here it is on the blog:

AUBURN, Ala. — One hundred and one days have passed since Gene Chizik was hired to lead Auburn’s football program. Now he finally gets to coach.

The Tigers begin three and a half weeks of spring practice tonight, at last a purely football phase for Chizik, who in the last three months has dedicated the majority of his time to recruiting, assembling a staff and winning over the hearts and minds of an initially-resistant Auburn nation.

The practices are closed to the public and, with the exception of three brief, 25-minute viewing periods, shut off to the media, meaning Chizik and his staff will privately go about installing its schemes and evaluate on the field for the first time the remaining talent from the Tommy Tuberville regime.

Here are five questions Auburn will try to answer before A-Day at Jordan-Hare Stadium on April 18:

1. Who will emerge as the leading candidate to play quarterback?

That’s the $64,000 question. Auburn’s biggest shortcoming last season becomes its biggest question mark this spring, with four candidates — Chris Todd, Kodi Burns, Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter — vying for the job.

“It’s going to be wide open,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said four weeks ago. “Everybody’s starting new.”

Burns finished the season as the No. 1 quarterback, starting the final five games and flashing glimpses of his potential in an offense that showed little, if any, improvement after Tuberville fired Tony Franklin as offensive coordinator and handed the reins to tight ends coach Steve Ensminger.

Auburn hopes to have Todd back in the mix after the rising senior had surgery in December on his throwing shoulder to correct an injury that plagued him since he transferred from junior college.

Caudle, a rising junior who finished last season as the backup, and Trotter, who redshirted, should get equal reps, at least in the early going.

Malzahn would like to have a starter established by the end of spring, but he won’t force a decision.

“Ideally, that would be the best case scenario,” he said, “but at the same time you’ve got to have somebody that earns it, that separates himself from the rest of them.”

2. Who will be the offensive play-makers Malzahn needs to make his offense go?

A team already lacking at the skill positions lost its leading receiver (Rod Smith) and a three-year contributor at running back (Brad Lester) to graduation, but the Tigers have plenty of candidates who should be eager to get an opportunity in Malzahn’s fast-paced, wide-open offense.

Wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis, who figured to be a big part of Auburn’s plans last year before tearing his ACL on the opening kickoff of the first game, should be ready for the spring. Montez Billings, Tim Hawthorne and Quindarius Carr, who were nearly invisible last season as the Tigers’ offense sputtered, will also get a chance to make an impact at receiver.
In the backfield, Onterio McCalebb, a speedy transfer from Hargrave Military Academy, will be thrown into the mix, adding a new element to the shifty Mario Fannin and powerful Ben Tate.

3. Will there be staff harmony on the offensive side of the ball?

A clash of personalities doomed the Tigers last year, with Franklin and Tuberville’s group of long-time assistants butting heads about Auburn’s offensive philosophy.
That shouldn’t be a problem with the new staff. Chizik hand-picked Malzahn, who, unlike Franklin, had input with the hiring of his offensive assistants.

Running backs coach Curtis Luper, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes all came aboard after being vetted by Malzahn and Chizik, which should mean last year’s drama shouldn’t be repeated.

4. How will Auburn cope with the early departures of defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks and cornerback Jerraud Powers to the NFL?

Marks’ absence, coupled with the graduation of tackle Tez Doolittle, leaves Auburn with a sizable hole up front, having to replace 60 tackles, 18 of which were for a loss.

Three players — rising senior Jake Ricks, junior Mike Blanc and sophomore Zach Clayton — played on the inside last year. Redshirts Derrick Lykes and Jomarcus Savage should be in the mix as well.

The Tigers are more prepared to replace Powers. Walt McFadden has locked down one cornerback spot and Aairon Savage is back after a knee injury cost him last season, although he might move to safety.

But Auburn has other options at corner, including Neiko Thorpe, last year’s nickelback, and D’Antoine Hood and Harry Adams, rising sophomores who were thrust into emergency action last season because of injuries.

5. Are there any more intriguing position battles than at kicker and punter?

Auburn’s special teams, or at least the players kicking the ball, will be scrutinized with a careful eye this spring.

Wes Byrum is the presumptive front-runner at place-kicker but, after a shaky sophomore season during which he missed eight of his 19 field goal attempts, is open to challengers. Walk-on Morgan Hull, who handled the kicking duties in the Iron Bowl because of a Byrum injury, is the chief competition.

Punter is a more intriguing situation. Clinton Durst finished 26th nationally in punting last year but may have lost his standing after briefly leaving the team this offseason because of a scholarship dispute.

Rising junior Ryan Shoemaker, who Durst beat out last fall, was a second-team All-SEC pick in 2007 and could take back his old job.

And finally, since we're getting prepared to watch some football, here are two items from The Onion, the best satirical news site out there in my opinion. First, a Hank Williams nod. Second, a football helmet-related disaster.

What an inglorious end to a fantastic season for the Auburn women's basketball team, which got crushed in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Rutgers on Monday.

Yes, second-seeded Auburn drew the short end of a stick by having to play on seventh-seeded Rutgers' court. But no homecourt advantage can account for the 28-point margin of victory.

ESPN analyst Kara Lawson pulled no punches in dissing the first No. 2 seed to lose in the tournament: "I'm just so thoroughly disappointed in Auburn's effort," she said, shortly after the game. "That's what you call about going into March like a lion and out like a lamb."

Rutgers (21-12) scored the first nine points to set the tone for what would be a thorough thumping. The Scarlet Knights led 22-4. That's a tough hole to dig out of.

Epiphanny Prince scored 27 points to win the battle of stars, out-shining Auburn's DeWanna Bonner, who had 17.

The Scarlet Knights simply out-played the Tigers, shooting 53.7 percent from the field.

Auburn missed 52 shots -- fifty-two! -- shooting 27.8 percent (20-for-72). It was 2-for-13 from 3-point range (15.4 percent).

Bonner was 5-for-15 from the field. Whitney Boddie 4-for-14 shooting. Sherell Hobbs was 4-for-15. Alli Smalley played 29 minutes and scored 4 points on 2-for-11 shooting. Nobody shot the ball well and, as the tournament proves year in and year out, one bad night will sink you.

The Tigers finished the season 30-4. Can't take anything away from them for that, but this certainly is a sour way to end things.

The Auburn baseball team went into this weekend’s series against No. 15 Arkansas knowing it would be a good barometer for where it stands in the SEC.

After a three-game sweep — punctuated by a 12-6 Razorbacks rout Sunday — the Tigers know they have some work to do.

Arkansas (16-4, 6-0 SEC) pounded out 17 hits and built leads of 8-1 and 11-2 at Plainsman Park to coast to its second sweep in as many weeks since SEC play began. It was the Razorbacks’ first-ever series sweep in Auburn.

“Any time you lose three games on a weekend, especially conference play, it’s very disappointing,” Tigers coach John Pawlowski said. “Arkansas came in here and they beat us in every phase of the game.”

Auburn dropped to 15-8 overall and 2-4 in the SEC.

Some notes and thoughts ...

• Arkansas jumped all over Auburn starter Paul Burnside (0-2), who gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Razorbacks scored four times in the first to put the Tigers in a deep hole. “I’ve told the guys before, it starts with pitching,” Pawlowski said. “Pitching is something that you build momentum off. ... It just put us behind the eight ball right out of the gate.”

• Burnside doesn't look quite right. It was my first time seeing him pitch this year, but he was off with his command, not surprising considering he's still getting back into the rhythm of pitching after missing last year with a broken collarbone. In five starts this year, the right-hander has a 6.53 ERA, with 14 walks in 20 2/3 innings. “You can’t fault his effort,” Pawlowski said. “I think his location is just not there. His stuff is pretty good. He just doesn’t have the command. And I think usually that’s the last piece of the puzzle.”

• Pawlowski said he might have to re-evaluate his third starter option after mid-week games against Samford and Troy this week. Dexter Price and Taylor Thompson are two pitchers he would consider.

• Not much of an offensive day until late for Auburn, which scored four runs in the eighth after it already trailed 12-2. Tony Caldwell was 3-for-4 and Joseph Sanders hit two doubles. "We know as a team that we can hit a lot better than we did," said left fielder Brian Fletcher, who hit a two-run double in the eighth.

• Auburn travels to Samford on Tuesday and Troy on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game series against Vanderbilt next weekend.

Auburn pitchers generally didn’t have trouble getting the first two outs of every inning Saturday afternoon. It was the third out that posed the biggest challenge and ultimately led to their demise.

No. 15 Arkansas scored every single one of its runs with two outs in a 10-6 win at Plainsman Park, pushing across five runs in the final two innings to secure its second victory in as many days against the Tigers.

Chase Leavitt and Scott Lyons had two hits and three RBIs apiece for the Razorbacks (15-4, 5-0 SEC), who will go for the series sweep Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT. Paul Burnside takes the mound for Auburn against Arkansas’ Drew Smyly.

“We’ve got to regroup,” Auburn coach John Pawlowski said. “I told them that the way you get to the SEC tournament is you’ve got to avoid being swept, on the road or at home.”

Auburn (15-7, 2-3 SEC) let the game slip away in the final two innings, which included these miscues:

• A dropped pop-up by third baseman Joseph Sanders, who lost the ball in the sun.
• Four walks by reliever Austin Hubbard.
• A missed suicide squeeze sign by Bradley Ray, who lined into an easy inning-ending double play.

“The last two innings were not great innings for Auburn baseball, that’s for sure,” Pawlowski said. “But I told the kids that’s the difference sometimes. It’s those little things that we’ve got to get better at.”

Some other notes and thoughts ...

• Auburn continued to show a little power. Justin Hargett hit his first home run since a walk-off in the opener and Hunter Morris added a solo shot in the sixth, his fifth of the year. Auburn now has 48 home runs this season.

• It looked like the Tigers were in business when Sanders bounced a two-run single to left off Arkansas' lights-out reliever Stephen Richards to take a 6-5 lead. But all that momentum was lost in the next half inning.

• Tough outing for reliever Austin Hubbard, Auburn's most reliable reliever to date. The right-hander gave up four runs (three earned) in two innings, allowing four hits and walking four.

• Richards (4-0), who got the win after pitching the final 2 2/3 innings, has given up only one earned run in 16 innings this year.

• Starter Jon Luke Jacobs went five innings but threw a lot of pitches (102 to be exact). He struck out six but went deep into a lot of counts, walking four batters.

• Tigers pitchers walked nine batters and hit two more on the afternoon. “You give up 11 free bases to any team, let alone a team like Arkansas, in the SEC, it’s going to be tough,” Pawlowski said. “We certainly couldn’t overcome that today.”

Auburn found out its next NIT opponent after Baylor ripped Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., this morning. Six players scored in double figures for the Bears, who improved to 22-14.

Auburn and Baylor will play at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Quick scouting report on Baylor, which won its first postseason game in 59 years last week (For a quick reference for how long ago that was, Harry S Truman was president back then).

The Bears are coached by Scott Drew, the son of Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, who brought us this great NCAA tournament memory. Baylor nearly sneaked into the NCAA tournament with a Big 12 tournament run, winning three games before falling short against Missouri 73-60 in the championship.

Baylor is led by guard Curtis Jerrells (16.1 ppg), the third all-time leading scorer in Bears history. LaceDarius Dunn (15.5 ppg), Kevin Rogers (12.4 ppg) and Tweety Carter (10.6) all average in double figures.

The Auburn women's basketball team's had no trouble in its NCAA tournament opener this afternoon. The Tigers got 26 points from DeWanna Bonner to easily win their first NCAA tournament game since 2004.

Auburn (30-3), the two seed in the Oklahoma City bracket, plays the winner of Rutgers and Virginia Commonwealth on Monday night. The game will be played on Rutgers' home court.

One other thing of note in a game that wasn't ever close. Whitney Boddie had nine assists, giving her 600 for her career, breaking the school record of 593 set by Renae Halbrooks from 1978-82.

Everybody got to play for Auburn. KeKe Carrier scored 11 points off the bench. Chantel Hilliard added 10.

None of Auburn's starters played more than 31 minutes, so the Tigers should be well rested come Round 2.

Senior forward Korvotney Barber was a spectator for most of Auburn’s second-round NIT game Friday, saddled with foul trouble practically from the opening tip. His teammates made sure his career didn’t end on that note.

Rasheem Barrett scored 17 points and Auburn locked down on defense in a 74-55 win against Tulsa at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to cruise into the National Invitation Tournament’s third round.

Auburn forced 18 turnovers, had 12 steals and allowed the fewest points in its brief NIT history despite having Barber, one of its best defenders, in the game for only 13 minutes.

“We just play like a bunch of junkyard dogs,” Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. “That’s what we do.”

The Tigers (24-11) tied the 1999-2000 squad for the second-most wins in school history and have won two NIT games in the same season for the first time.

Auburn hosts the winner of today’s game between Virginia Tech and Baylor on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Some thoughts ...

• Horribly officiated game. Just plain awful. It was a hodgepodge of officials from several difference conferences who really weren't in unison with what they were going to call. It resulted in players getting called for ticky-tack fouls on one possessions and then getting hammered with no call on the next.

• This was best exemplified with Vot, who had a case against each one of the four fouls he had called against him. He played just 13 minutes but scored nine points.

• Brendon Knox and Johnnie Lett, who returned from a severely sprained ankle that had kept him out since January, did a good job on Tulsa's seven-foot center Jerome Jordan, who finished with four points, 10 below his season average.

• Tulsa led the nation in 3-point defense, holding opponents to 27.3 percent shooting. Auburn went 8-for-21 (38.1 percent) from long range Friday.

• Nice well-rounded effort by Quantez Robertson, whose game has been peaking. The senior had six points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win. He also went 6-for-6 from the line. That's 11 straight for someone whose charity stripe troubles have been well documented.

• DeWayne Reed had a big night as well, finishing with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals. He also had five turnovers.

• One more win and Auburn is headed to New York City for the NIT semifinals, which would be a nice consolation prize after the team narrowly missed out on making the NCAA tournament. “These country boys haven’t been to New York,” Lebo joked. “That’d be a nice treat for them. We’ve still got some work to do.”

If Auburn was disappointed by its NCAA tournament snub, it didn’t show it Wednesday night.

The Tigers hung on for an 87-82 victory against UT-Martin in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, the team’s first postseason win in six years.

DeWayne Reed and Quantez Robertson both set career highs, finishing with 23 and 19 points, respectively, as Auburn (23-11) overcame Sunday’s disappointment of being left out of the NCAA tournament’s field of 65.

“The kids practiced their tails off Monday. Didn’t say a word about it,” said Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, who thought his team had a good case to make the NCAA bracket after winning nine of 11 to finish the regular season. “I’m just proud of them. It’s been a heck of a ride.”

The Tigers, who are the top seed in their bracket, advance to the NIT’s second round on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT, when they will host Tulsa.

Some thoughts on the game ...

• Oh boy, is UT-Martin's Lester Hudson a player. He got off to a slow start but made up for it in a 33-point effort, going 12-for-24 from the floor. He was driving, pulling up for jumpers and hitting bombs from long range. It didn't look like there was a weakness in his game.

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part I: “He’s special. You can see why NBA people love him. He doesn’t just score. He can pass. His IQ is very high. He was really good tonight, really kept them in the game with how he played.”

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part II: "That was as good as I’ve seen in a long time."

• Lebo was impressed with Hudson, Part III: "I know (Stephen) Curry is pretty good, but if he’s better than that, I’d like to see him."

• In summary, Lebo was impressed with Hudson, who added 12 points and seven assists.

• Back to Auburn, which made a season-high 14 3-pointers. Reed had five. Robertson, Rasheem Barrett, Lucas Hargrove and Frankie Sullivan each added two.

• Free throws nearly derailed the Tigers down the stretch. They went 21-for-35 from the line (60%) after shooting them pretty well during their hot streak at the end of the season.

• Tez was spectacular offensively after being the exact opposite of that all season. It was the first time he reached double figures in points since December and just the fourth time all season. He made more than one 3-pointer for just the second time this year. And his season-long Kryptonite, the free throw line, was no problem. He canned all five of his free ones Wednesday.

• Tez admitted that he knows the clock is winding down on his college career: "I think that’s what motivated us today," he said. "It could have been our last game."

The Auburn women’s team received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play 15th-seeded Lehigh in the first round Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

It is the highest seed Auburn (29-3) has received since getting a No. 2 seed in 1990.

If the Tigers win, they’ll play the winner of No. 7 Rutgers and No. 10 Virginia Commonwealth, creating the possibility that Auburn could play the lower-seeded Scarlet Knights on their home floor.

Auburn is in the Oklahoma City bracket, which features Oklahoma as the No. 1 seed and North Carolina as the No. 3.

(UPDATE) We got to speak with Nell Fortner and a few players after the selection show. Here's what they had to say:

FORTNER

On the team's No. 2 seed
"I was hoping we’d get a 1, but I knew we wouldn’t be lower than a 2. I’m pleased with where we’re heading out. The NCAA Tournament is a tough tournament, but I feel like we’re road tested, fell like we tough-game tested. These players are hungry. I’m looking forward to getting it going."

On the possibility of playing a de factor road game against Rutgers in the second round
"If we’re fortunate enough to get there – we’ve got to get past Lehigh – but every game is tough. There won’t be any easy games. When you go on somebody’s home floor, it’s going to be a tough game, there’s no question. But we’ll be prepared to play."

Are you happy UConn is on the other side of the bracket?
"I think anybody would say, `Yeah.' Absolutely. You don’t really want to meet them to the very last game."

On the region, which features Oklahoma, North Carolina and Pittsburgh
"It’s a tough road, there’s no question, but there are no easy roads. That’s how the tournament works."

WHITNEY BODDIE, point guard

On holding out hope for a No. 1 seed
"We were trying to be realistic. We really didn’t get a lot of respect all year long and we lost the championship game of the SEC. Honestly, we really didn’t care one way or another. One seed, two seed, it’s all the same. You’ve got to play. If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to play one of those teams one way or another."

On potentially playing Rutgers on its home court
"It’s a home game for them, but we like winning on another person’s home court. You know, shut ’em up. Shut the crowd up. That’s cool."

DeWANNA BONNER, forward

On not getting a one seed
"I knew we were going to be either a one or a two seed. Seeding doesn’t really matter any more. You’ve just got to go out there and play because anybody can get beat in the NCAA tournament."

On not having UConn on your side of the bracket
"We were prepared to play them. It’s always a good team. We’ll just try to match up with them in the Final Four."

Any pressure as an All-American to perform well in the tournament?
No, because we have a great team. I don’t have to worry about taking everything on my shoulders because we have a great point guard, great shooters and everything. Of course, it’s what you want to do is step up. This is my last NCAA tournament. It’s my second NCAA tournament. We really didn’t go far in the first one so I just want to make my impressions right now"

On playing on other teams' home courts in the postseason
"Nothing new. We just left the SEC tournament and obviously Tennessee has the home-court advantage almost at the game. We just had our little group of fans and they had this whole big arena, so it’s not even about the fans right now. We’ve just got to go out and play hard"