Here's Why Auburn's Loss on Saturday Isn't All That Concerning to Me

This week has been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster for Auburn fans like myself. After winning a top-15 matchup by forty on Wednesday, Auburn turned around and put up one of its worst offensive showings in the Bruce Pearl era. I would have been ecstatic if you would have told me before this game that we would hold Kentucky to seventy points. After all, this year's Kentucky team is known for simply trying to outscore theit opponents, showing very little resistance on the defensive end. Unfortunately, the solid defense we played was negated by a combination of high-pressure defense from Kentucky and a lack of ability to hit open shots. It just wasn't our night, which is surprising to me, because Auburn has been a juggernaut in Neville this year. I was disappointed that we weren't able to pull this one out.

That being said, some of the reactions I have seen from our fans and others around college basketball have been waaaaaay too dramatic. Games like this are the reality of college basketball. This is not football. It doesn't matter how good you are, there are going to be some nights over a 30+ game season where you struggle. There are going to be some nights where you lose a game you really shouldn't have lost. The great thing about this sport is that you can recover from things like this. The consequences of losing a game in football are far more severe than the consequences of losing a game in basketball.

You might be thinking, "but Will, this doesn't sound like much of a competitive spirit. It sounds like you're okay with losing." Wrong. I promise you that I wanted to win this game as much as any Auburn fan out there. If you could see the way I act during games, you would know that I genuinely hate losing. So no, I'm not okay with losing to Kentucky on Saturday. However, I do understand that this loss does not define this team and it is certainly one that we will be able to recover from. Kentucky has a great team, and they played a great game. They caught us on a bad night, and they should be proud of their victory. Auburn has five more games to get back into a rhythm before the SEC tournament, and I am fully confident that we will.

Here are a few more thoughts from Saturday...

-Losing Jaylin Williams is terrible. It sounds like his injury is minor and that he will return very soon, which is absolutely fantastic news for this team. I think the time that he is out will be a great opportunity for one particular player. Chaney Johnson. I can imagine he will get extended minutes with Jaylin out, and Johnson has shown signs of improvement each and every week. If he can step up and handle a bigger role these next few games, I think that could give him the confidence he needs to make a big-time impact in the postseason. He has the athleticism. He has the build. He just needs reps and confidence, and he is about to get a great opportunity to attain both.

-30 % from the field, 18 % from three. And the worst part is, we didn't really take many bad shots. We missed a lot of open shots. This just can't happen. I think that Kentucky's suffocating pressure sort of caught us off guard. They are ranked 81st in adjusted defensive efficiency (kenpom), so I can't imagine that our guys came into this one expecting much resistance from them defensively. That most certainly was not the case. They kept us out of rhythm, and every time we made a run, they combatted it with a run of their own. Props to Kentucky for stepping it up on that side of the ball.

-I hate to pile on the kid every week, but Aden Holloway has reached a point of being downright unplayable. You can tell that his confidence has reached an all-time low, and until he is able to get over this mental hurdle, Bruce is going to have to give him very limited minutes. I've really liked Denver Jones's minutes at the one. I'd love to see more of this in the next couple of games.

-Chad Baker-Mazara, I love your game buddy, but please stop trying to make flashy passes when we are fighting back into a ballgame. We had multiple opportunities to shorten the lead early, but his behind-the-back passes soiled possessions and led to a swing in momentum back in Kentucky's favor. I'll give him an excuse since he played pretty well outside of these passes, but in the future, let's avoid being flashy in tight contests.

-KD Johnson is the embodiment of Auburn basketball. Big-time high's, and big-time low's. I love his intensity, but some of the things he does just leave me scratching my head thinking, "what in the world was that?"

-At one point, Kentucky had 15 points off turnovers, and we had none. Turnovers are a quick way to destroy a comeback attempt. We've got to focus on taking care of the ball in these matchups against solid opponents. Every possession is valuable.

We've got the equivalent of a "bye week" this week. Only one game on Saturday at Georgia. This couldn't have come at a better time. We're banged up, coming off an ugly offensive performance, and most importantly, need some time to figure out who is going to help carry the load down the stretch. We've got a great opportunity ahead of us to finish the season strong. Forget about rankings, forget about seeding. Let's just win. That's what it comes down to in the end. Control what you can control, and let the rest play out on its own.