BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (EETV) – Auburn opened up the game shooting 55% from the field in the first half. The Tigers then turned around and shot 16% in the second half, making only four field goals with a 10-plus minute drought between the first and second.
“They guarded us in the 2nd half like we thought they’d guard us all day long,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “They pressed up on the ball. They made it really difficult for us to run our offense.”
With a final score of 81-64 the game didn’t truly get out of hand until the last five minutes, something that has happened to the Tigers all season long.
Despite only making four field goals Auburn remained in the contest by their ability to get to the free throw line. The Tigers shot 36 free throws in the contest only making 19. Johni Broome particularly struggled, going 6-16 from the stripe.
“I know (Johni) feels terrible,” said Pearl. “But listen, this team is not here without Johni Broome. We're not an NCAA Tournament team."
Allen Flanigan said it bluntly after the game, “If we make our free throws we are battling to win the game.”
Broome did lead the team in scoring with 14, a distinction that he shared with Jaylin Williams. Williams did it on 5-14 shooting with a pair of assists and a pair of rebounds to go along with it. Broome finished with six boards in addition to his scoring.
In Zep Jasper’s last game as an Auburn Tiger, he finished with one point in 17 minutes of play but his impact doesn’t just show up on the stat sheet as Jasper played a huge part in keeping Auburn in the game.
“It’s gonna be Auburn forever I cherish this moment I cherish my family,” Jasper said teary-eyed after the game.
It can’t be understated the disparity in the performances between the two halves from Auburn.
In the first half, Auburn showed that they weren’t afraid of 1-seed Houston’s defense. The team had one of its best halves of the season, shooting 55% from the field, 45% from three and turning the ball over just twice en route to scoring 41 points in the first 20 minutes.
The team also rebounded the Cougars 21-19 in the first, with Houston being the 15th-best rebounding team in the nation.
In the second half Houston outscored the Tigers 50-23, outrebounded them 26-13 and shot 100% (18-18) from the free throw line while Auburn shot 57.7% (15-26).
With that, the Tiger’s season comes to a close with multiple uncertainties on what the roster could look like next year. Both Flanigan and Williams mentioned the fact that they had another year of eligibility to think about.
“I really don’t know much about it,” Williams responded when asked about his extra year of eligibility. “I’ll think more about it, talk to my mom and talk to BP to see what’s best for me”
“We was focused, locked in on the season,” said Flanigan when asked the same question. “But now that this has come to an end I got to sit down and talk to coach, talk to my family and make a decision”
Near the end of Pearl’s presser, he added a closing statement "I'm proud of this team. But if you know me, I'm onto the next play — and I'll be recruiting tonight."
