The Auburn Tigers suffered their fourth loss of the year on the road to Tennessee. After closing the half with an eleven-point lead, the Tiger struggled to score in the second half and eventually fell to the Volunteers by five. After the match, Bruce Pearl spoke to the media and said this.
Opening statement
I’m disappointed to be eleven points ahead in the second half for not taking better care of the basketball and taking advantage of the position in which we put ourselves. I played hard and the defense was pretty good, I scored turnovers. We need more guys to step up offensively. We had a good night from Jabari and a good night from KD and a good night from Jabari but we have more progress in us. Our half-court offense continues to struggle. We don’t get a good look. Tennessee is a good defensive player and that’s what happens when you play against a good defensive team. We are at the end of February and we are not playing offensively. No excuses for the rebound. We talked before the game that the team that played with more energy and effort would win the game. They were faster on the ball than us and that was a problem for us. It’s hard to win a game when you give away the ball.
Eight minutes without a basket scored in the second half
We flipped it, didn’t shoot, and didn’t run. I’ll go back and watch it, but the question is do we value possessions. We didn’t have a good point guard tonight. We had a great point guard game against Ole Miss but not tonight.
On the lack of bench points
Well, Jabari had some tough knocks, but Wendell got a night off. He had some hard knocks. When you play against one of the best teams in the league you have to create them, you just can’t take them.
End game scenario
We kept pressing knowing we didn’t need a foul because they spat a bit, maybe they’d give us another one. Were our guards able to keep them out front? Not a lot. Our guards couldn’t keep their guards out front and it cost us dearly.
On inconsistent guard play and how to keep the team confident
I just tell them to trust themselves and try to trust the process. Know that you can go on the road, not play very well losing by five against Tennessee, not playing well losing by one possession against Florida, not playing well and losing in overtime against Arkansas. We can’t press the panic button.
If the team lost their temper at the end
Yes, we did a little. This is part of non-execution. We didn’t enjoy possession offensively or defensively. With that eleven point lead, we had three turnovers in there. It was possession that they knocked down and scored and all of a sudden the eleven point lead was gone.
On the struggles of Wendell Green
I trust him because he really delivers. It doesn’t matter because you’re going to follow the same path as your best players. Wendell is one of our best players. He didn’t shoot a great percentage today and could have done a better job of going out and getting better shooting and passing and being better playmakers. Lots of things he probably could have done better but I trust him.
The Auburn Tigers will play Mississippi State again next Wednesday in Starkville.