Auburn Daily

Auburn Unhappy with Round of 64 Performance

The Auburn Tigers might have blown out their opponent to open the Tournament, but they were far from satified with how they played

Austin Walls

The score doesn't reflect the Tigers overall performance
The score doesn't reflect the Tigers overall performance / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
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The Auburn Tigers are not happy. Despite winning their opening-round game against the Alabama State Hornets, 83-63, there was an awareness that they didn’t look their best. 

They are the No. 1 overall seed, and they felt they didn’t play to that standard. While some players had great days, others did not. Naismith candidate Johni Broome finished the day with just 14 points, going five-of-nine from the field. He did rebound the ball 11 times and added an assist. However, we have seen much better performances from Broome earlier this year. 

Other players like Chad Baker-Mazara struggled against the 16-seeded Hornets. He scored of just one of nine attempts from the field with just five points all game. He had just two rebounds, a block and a steal. 

While the Tigers advanced to the Round of 32, they may not have built any momentum heading into the next round. It will be head coach Bruce Pearl’s job to get everyone back on the same page. 

 “We'll need to play -- a lot better,” said Bruce Pearl. “That's the biggest difference right now between the way we were playing earlier in the season and the way we're playing right now. You can do that against a team that you're better than, but you can't do that -- we won't be able to do that from this point forward.”

Broome agreed that he also needed to play better and that the Hornets had a great game plan against Auburn. 

“We knew they were a very scrappy team. We knew they changed their defense up a lot. They go man, they go 1-3-1, and they go 2-3. That's a good strategy,” Broome said. “They try to make us take a lot of tough 2s. They double and triple the baseline and the post. Shout out to them for having a game plan, but we have to play better.”

Auburn plans to rectify their mistakes and play in the next game. They'll have to do it against ninth-seed Creighton, who swiftly dispatched eighth-seed Louisville. That game will be Saturday, March 22 at 6:10 p.m. CDT. 

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Austin Walls
AUSTIN WALLS

Austin Walls is a University of Florida Sports Journalism graduate. He has covered different sports, from motorsport, professional and college football, professional and college basketball, women's basketball and hockey among others. He has spent most of his time focusing on the SEC Conference, but has spent time covering the AAC, MWC and ACC.

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