By Brant Daughtry
This team is just suffocating. The ability to take an offense that just scored 61 points in a half and hold them to UNDER 61 points total until there are just over three minutes left, all while scoring just under 100 is incredible.
How about the play of Denver Jones? Holding a really explosive and athletic player in Jeremiah Fears from being impactful and not missing a shot in the game. That’s a special night from a guy who’s more of a role player on this particular team.
But I think that’s part of what makes this team so special. Johni Broome is the headliner, and rightfully so, but anyone on this team can beat you by themselves. These are unselfish and talented guys who want to take part in a winning team. It’s a weird dynamic that I think should earn Bruce Pearl national coach of the year just for being able to draw it out of all of these guys in equal measure, and manage the personalities in this locker room.
And boy those personalities were on display. It’s known that guys on this team play with emotion, Chad Baker-Mazara especially, and they really got into Oklahoma’s head in this game. Unfortunately, it felt like Oklahoma was able to give a lot of it back, and when that stray elbow wasn’t called a flagrant foul, the game turned into a circus that ended with CBM fouling out. In hindsight, him sitting the rest of the game was maybe not the worst thing. Auburn can’t change those guys. Them playing with that level of intensity is a major reason that they’re as good as they are.
I don’t think Bruce did the best job of preventing that incident after the refs, who I thought were otherwise pretty good in the game, failed to do so. Sometimes, the head coach needs to be the adult in the room, and leaving Chad in after he started to run hot feels like a mistake, especially after the technical that led to his ejection. I’m not criticizing Bruce Pearl as a coach, far be it from me to do so. And it’s insanely easy for me to type all of that having never coached or played basketball in my life. But I do think he needs to realize when he needs to get a handle on his guys a little sooner. This is a team that plays with a lot of emotion, and that’s a good thing. But it also comes with dangers.
Speaking of dangers, let’s talk about the Florida Gators. They’re coached by Todd Golden, a former Auburn assistant and Bruce Pearl disciple who’s proven himself really capable early in his head coaching career. Florida is on a roll this year and has cemented themselves as a team contending for a top seed. Currently, they sit at 6th in the AP, and 5th in the NET and KenPom rankings.
Looking at this Florida team, you can see the Bruce Pearl-Todd Golden connections. They’re a shallow rotation, but the guys who play are able to go off at any time. They’re big and physical defensively, and their offense is run through the center playing well down low and making passes to open shooters. While Auburn is more the final goal of this blueprint, Florida is very effective version of it.
Players to Watch For:
Center Alex Condon, #21- Condon is the big man that Florida runs things through. He averages 11 points and eight rebounds, and is a stout defender with 1.5 blocks per game. Like I said, his passing is also dangerous, with 2.5 assists per game, which is a ton for a big man like Condon.
Guard Walter Clayton Jr, #1- Clayton was injured in Florida’s last game, but it came out earlier today that he’ll still play against Auburn. Without him, Florida would lose its biggest punch offensively. Even if he’s limited, he’s a dangerous scorer. As I mentioned, his 17 points per game is the most for the Gators. He’s a shooter, getting up about seven threes a game and hitting around 33% of those. Auburn’s guards have done a great job against scoring guards this year outside of the Ole Miss game, and they’ll need more of that here.
This is one of the tougher tests Auburn has left at home. It’s probably not wise to look ahead like this, but I think if Auburn wins this game, they can run the table at home. Florida reads to me like a team that can give Auburn trouble. They’re talented everywhere and there’s not one matchup where Auburn can clearly dominate. It’ll take a full team effort for either side to come out ahead in this one. Don’t blink.
