Auburn Basketball Picks Up Their First Win

Auburn basketball is officially in the win column. After a slow start, the Tigers ultimately pulled away from Southeastern Louisiana, outlasting the Lions 86-71. It was never really close, but it also never really turned into a blowout like people expected. The score remained within about 8-15 points for the majority of the game. Obviously, some fans might interpret this as an ugly win. I personally was fine with the way this one turned out.

Games like this are a good time to experiment, and Bruce Pearl and some of the new guys did just that. Bruce rolled out a bunch of different lineups, testing their ability to run the offense together and to gel together on the defensive end. Some of the younger guys, such as Chaney Johnson, were given the opportunity to get comfortable at this level of basketball. Against Baylor, Johnson put up only 3 shots. He posted 11 last night. Games like this are important for new guys to be able to get comfortable, since the stakes aren't so high and you have more room for error. Don't get caught up in the final score. That's not what these games are about. These games are about meshing and figuring out who plays well together.

Let's talk about a couple things I observed last night...

-The defense needs some work. We were solid on that side of the ball in the first half, but gave up 43 in the second. As soon as our offense got going, so did theirs. They only shot 39.7% from the field, but I thought they took far too many open shots. Need to step up on that side of the ball, especially in the paint. Johni is going to have to give more effort.

-KD Johnson made some big shots last night. I don't know what it is about him, but it seems like he only makes shots if they are contested. He will take a wide open three and miss, but will turn around and make a three off the dribble with a hand in his face. It's honestly incredible to watch. I'm hoping he can consistently play like he did on Friday night.

-Auburn shot only 41.4% from the floor. This is not a good number against a lower-level team, but I thought we took good shots. I think the main reason that number is low is because we took 32 three's. That's a lot of perimeter shooting against a team that you are bigger, stronger, and faster than. I thought we might should have looked to attack the basket more. I don't want guys to get comfortable with settling for three's.

-Chad Baker-Mazara is going to be an x-factor for this team. He can shoot it, he's automatic from the free throw line, and he gives great effort on defense. He and Jaylin Williams will determine how many games we win this year. You have to be able to count on your 3-5 scoring options to put up consistent numbers every night. We need at least 8-10 points per game out of these two.

-I am fine with Aden not starting. Auburn needs a consistent scorer off the bench. Having Aden in the second group allows him to get more shots early since he will have to be the primary scorer in that unit. I think what we have going now is perfect. Start Tre, but give Aden more minutes. That's what we did with Zep and Wendell a few years ago, and we just so happened to win the SEC that year. You have to be smart with your rotations. I think Bruce is doing the right thing here.

I'm not at all upset about the slow start on Friday. It's a Friday night against a bad team coming off of a huge game on Tuesday night. I expected a bit of a hangover period. I hope we handle business these next few weeks in non-conference play. I expect to win the next five before Holiday Hoopsgiving against Indiana. We have Notre Dame in Brooklyn next Thursday. Don't be fooled by the name on the jersey, this Notre Dame team is not good. They are the lowest ranked power five team in Kenpom. Let's blow them out and get a nice rhythm going.