Auburn Picks Up a Signature Victory

At halftime of the Ole Miss game last night, I began to have some second thoughts about this team. They looked somewhat careless at times during both games against the Mississippi schools, and I thought that maybe I was wrong about the fight this team had. I couldn't have been more wrong in thinking that. Auburn came out in the second half and absolutely blasted Ole Miss on the road to pick up their first Quad 1 victory. This was a MUCH needed win for the Tigers.

Before getting into my notes from the game, I want to talk about something that Jaylin Williams said during his post-game interview. When asked about what Coach Bruce Pearl said at halftime to motivate his team, he made the claim that it was actually Chad Baker-Mazara that gave them a spark in the locker room. CBM apparently kicked out the managers and coaches and took it upon himself to light a fire under his teammates. I cannot even begin to explain how important it is to have a guy like this on your team. Leadership from the staff will only get you so far. I can say first-hand that it means just a little bit more when one of your teammates steps up and challenges you. Hearing this from J-Will confirms everything that I had assumed about this team. They are tight-knit, they are invested, and most importantly, they are COMPETITORS. These qualities will serve Auburn well for the remainder of this season.

I've got a few notes from this one...

-I have been critical of Johni Broome on many occasions this season. However, he has earned so much respect from me these past two weeks. He has shown up in the big games, and he played a huge part in the comeback we made last night. He was scoring at will, he was defending shots at the rim, he was rebounding, he was even passing the ball well. He's beginning to turn into the unstoppable beast that we assumed he would be when he announced his return for this season. Well done, Johni.

-Bruce Pearl's sideline out of bounds (SLOBS) and baseline out of bounds (BLOBS) plays are undeniably the best in the country. When Bruce calls a timeout and we have the ball out of bounds following the break, you can just about add the points before we even inbound it. This is such an underrated asset in a coach. This ability to draw up play's on the fly is part of the reason why he is one of the best coaches in college basketball.

-Everyone played their part last night. Broome was elite, J-Will posted a team-high 16 points, KD finished 4-4 from the field, CBM made same very timely baskets. Even Chris Moore hit a three. There wasn't a guy on the team that didn't do their part. When we play a complete game like that, we are unstoppable. I'm hoping that this win will give our guys the confidence they need to make a leap.

-Chaney Johnson is getting more and more comfortable every single game. If he continues to improve his game, he could be a huge piece for this team in the future. He has elite athleticism and a big frame, and if he can continue to get more comfortable with the ball in his hands, he's gonna be VERY tough to keep off the floor.

-The fact that this was our first Quad 1 victory does not concern me at all. In fact, I don't think our Quad 1 record (1-3) is very telling. Winning on the road is tough, and all of our Quad 1 games have been on the road. Now, does that mean that it was excusable for us to lose to Mississippi State at their place? No, it does not. That was a game we should have won. What I am trying to get at is that we cannot write this team off as "fraudulent" and "overrated" like many college basketball fans would like to. There will be plenty of Quad 1 opportunities in the coming weeks, and the only record that will matter will be the one at the end of the season.

-I feel that this team gets a bit complacent at times. It is so painful to watch us battle our way back into a game with good, clean basketball just to turn the ball over and lose momentum once we tie it. When you have momentum after a big run to tie the game, that is the perfect opportunity to step on the gas and take a lead of your own. That is not the time to relax and get loose with the basketball. I want to see us SUSTAIN some big runs.

The next few weeks are going to show us who we really are. We've got Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee coming up. We cannot drop more than three of these games if we want to try to compete for the SEC regular-season title this year. We need all of our guys locked in and ready to COMPETE during this stretch. Guys like CBM will make sure that we are. I'm excited to watch some high-level basketball.