AUBURN — The latest collapse in what’s becoming a long season for Auburn basketball had little to do with struggling to stave off a comeback. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
For as many massive leads as the Tigers have squandered in SEC play, the shoe was on the other foot in their battle with No. 20 Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
An 11-point halftime deficit for the home team never came much closer as a smattering of comeback efforts late weren’t enough to stave off an eventual 84-76 defeat that extended Auburn‘s losing streak to a season-worst three games.
The closest Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC) came to Vanderbilt’s commanding lead — which swelled to 14 at one point — was four points. The Tigers mustered a 13-4 run with less than five minutes remaining in doing so, but Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4), as it did often, played keepaway with the lead.
The final blow from the Commdores was their response to Auburn’s scoring spurt — a 9-2 run of their own — to seal the AU defeat.
Tahaad Pettiford carried the Tigers down the stretch, posting a team-high 21 points and four assists. He was outdone by Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, who logged a game-high 25 points with six assists.
Here’s a look at how Auburn fell in its third consecutive contest.
8:26 2H: Auburn’s as close to Vanderbilt’s lead as it has been this half, and the Commodores are still struggling to find baskets. It’s searching for the sort of run it’d need to make a comeback, and it’s already up 4-0 on the latest possessions thanks to drawing a couple whistles.
It’s 61-51, Vanderbilt.
10:56 2H: The Commodores had a near-four-minute stretch where they didn’t make a shot from the field, but the closest Auburn came to Vanderbilt’s lead was 10 points. Vanderbilt’s just 4 for 13 from the field in the second half, and it’s yet to make a shot from beyond the arc in six tries.
It’s 57-45, Vanderbilt.
15:11 2H: Auburn’s on a 5-2 mini-run, but the closest its come to Vanderbilt’s lead was nine after Sebastian Williams-Adams scored the first bucket of the second half. Since then, the Commodores’ lead has swelled to 14.
The shooting woes haven’t ceased for Auburn since intermission, shooting 33% in the second half and 32.4% for the game.
It’s 49-38, Vanderbilt.
After 20 minutes, it felt like Vanderbilt kind of played with its food before closing the half on a 16-5 run. Its offense has been a well-oiled machine, motioned by poetry.
That’s been enough to stamp out any of Auburn’s success on its own end, not that there’s was much to stamp out in the first place. Auburn was 1 for 10 on shots at the rim in the first half, making it 4 for 18 on 2-point shots.
Here’s a look at the halftime stats:
3:17 1H: Filip Jović picked up a foul that was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 upon review with 5:39 remaining. Auburn’s third flagrant in three consecutive halves, Vanderbilt turned it into four points, and it’s on an 8-2 run since.
It’s 34-28, Vanderbilt.
7:20 1H: The lead’s changed hands twice in the past three minutes, meaning Auburn’s finally pulled ahead of Vanderbilt, at least once. Part of that’s been Keyshawn Hall, who’s 2 for 3 from distance and up to 10 points, but the Tigers are still dominating the glass, at plus-10 in the rebound margin.
Nine of its 14 rebounds have been on offense, and Auburn’s turned those into 10 points.
It’s 23-21, Vanderbilt.
11:54 1H: Auburn’s 1 of 5 from distance to this point, but Kevin Overton sunk the first to pull Auburn within a basket of the Commodores. The Tigers haven’t pulled any closer, however, as Vanderbilt’s now at 7 for 11 from the floor in the first eight minutes.
It’s 15-11, Vanderbilt.
15:12 1H: The Spain action Steven Pearl warned of yesterday has helped Vanderbilt to a near-perfect, 5-for-6 start from the floor, with the Commodores getting a clear lane to the basket on more than one possession. Auburn’s offense has looked familiar as well, with the Tigers making just two of their seven shots from the field.
The glass looks like it’ll be crucial in this one. Auburn’s plus-four at this point, with all of its rebounds on offensive, and it’s led to six second-chance points — which is the entirety of its scoring so far.
It’s 11-6, Vanderbilt.
Tom Hart and former Tennessee guard Dane Bradshaw will be on the SEC Network call, handling play-by-play and color commentator duties, respectively.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on WLWI FM (92.3) in Montgomery and WGZZ FM (94.3) in Auburn. The radio call can also be streamed online. Here are the announcers:
Auburn will defend a three-game win streak against Commodores on Tuesday, including eight wins in the past nine matchups.
Record: 14-9 (5-5 SEC)
All times central. Asterisks denote neutral site contests.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at[email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@colereporter. To support Adam’s work, pleasesubscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
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