Greetings all. I was under the impression participation over here had ended, but apparently I was mistaken. I hope you are all doing well.
As you know, despite the loss of Danjel and Austin, I was adamant in my opinion that this Auburn team was the most talented in over a decade and could be a tournament bubble team. Turns out I was wrong. We aren’t just a bubble team, we are competing for a high seed and to win the whole dang SEC. Kenpom actually has us as the favorite at this point. So wtf happened?
I know that most of these points have been hit by others, so forgive me for being repetitive, but they are deserve mention:
1) Chemistry. Good GAWD the chemistry. We have an entire team who has bought into being a team. We feed the guys who are hot. When one guy isn’t playing great and sits, he cheers for his replacement like it isn’t him out there. This team loves each other. I think this is most evident in the fact that Austin and Danjel looks so engaged during games. We will see if that continues with Austin being ruled out for the season and Purifoy no closer to returning.
2) I would say “rebounding,” but that doesn’t really explain it. How about “desire.” This team wants it. It wants rebounds. It wants steals. Loose balls. It wants to play lockdown defense. And I think you can credit Desean Murray for leading by example. But everyone is doing it. Bryce is defending the perimeter like a madman. I’m sure he’s licking his chops for a shot at Sexton coming up.
3) Poise. We’ve been down double digits and come back to win three times. We had Arkansas make a run at us like so many teams have done in the past and stomped it out. We simply make plays when we need to. We never lose confidence. I do want to see how we bounce back when we eventually lose again. That’ll tell us a lot.
4) Free throw shooting. I was going to put this under “poise,” but it deserves its own mention. Do I think FT %age is the sign of a good team? Not necessarily. FT %age is not a reliable metric for separating good and bad teams. But it is undeniable that our clutch shooting from the line has made us nearly-bullet proof in late game situations. For a team that isn’t going to score back-to-the-basket in the post very often, being able to drive, get fouled and knock down those FTs is massive. It helps negates our one weakness (size on the post).
Where do we go from here? I think we have a real shot to win the SEC. I think 10 more SEC wins will do it as long as one of those wins is over Kentucky. According to ESPN’s BPI, we are favored in all but three remaining games (road games at Missouri, Florida and Arkansas). I personally think Georgia is a bad matchup because of Maten, and I expect to split that two game series. I think we will drop another game somewhere else, just because the SEC is so tough. Which puts us at 25-6 (13-5). That’s a 2/3 seed I think.
I’ll also copy and paste my post for the Bunker with tidbits from Bruce at the annual letterman’s meeting the night before the Arkansas game in a post in this thread.
Roundball is beautiful on the Plains right now. And next year could be even better. Soak it in friends.
As you know, despite the loss of Danjel and Austin, I was adamant in my opinion that this Auburn team was the most talented in over a decade and could be a tournament bubble team. Turns out I was wrong. We aren’t just a bubble team, we are competing for a high seed and to win the whole dang SEC. Kenpom actually has us as the favorite at this point. So wtf happened?
I know that most of these points have been hit by others, so forgive me for being repetitive, but they are deserve mention:
1) Chemistry. Good GAWD the chemistry. We have an entire team who has bought into being a team. We feed the guys who are hot. When one guy isn’t playing great and sits, he cheers for his replacement like it isn’t him out there. This team loves each other. I think this is most evident in the fact that Austin and Danjel looks so engaged during games. We will see if that continues with Austin being ruled out for the season and Purifoy no closer to returning.
2) I would say “rebounding,” but that doesn’t really explain it. How about “desire.” This team wants it. It wants rebounds. It wants steals. Loose balls. It wants to play lockdown defense. And I think you can credit Desean Murray for leading by example. But everyone is doing it. Bryce is defending the perimeter like a madman. I’m sure he’s licking his chops for a shot at Sexton coming up.
3) Poise. We’ve been down double digits and come back to win three times. We had Arkansas make a run at us like so many teams have done in the past and stomped it out. We simply make plays when we need to. We never lose confidence. I do want to see how we bounce back when we eventually lose again. That’ll tell us a lot.
4) Free throw shooting. I was going to put this under “poise,” but it deserves its own mention. Do I think FT %age is the sign of a good team? Not necessarily. FT %age is not a reliable metric for separating good and bad teams. But it is undeniable that our clutch shooting from the line has made us nearly-bullet proof in late game situations. For a team that isn’t going to score back-to-the-basket in the post very often, being able to drive, get fouled and knock down those FTs is massive. It helps negates our one weakness (size on the post).
Where do we go from here? I think we have a real shot to win the SEC. I think 10 more SEC wins will do it as long as one of those wins is over Kentucky. According to ESPN’s BPI, we are favored in all but three remaining games (road games at Missouri, Florida and Arkansas). I personally think Georgia is a bad matchup because of Maten, and I expect to split that two game series. I think we will drop another game somewhere else, just because the SEC is so tough. Which puts us at 25-6 (13-5). That’s a 2/3 seed I think.
I’ll also copy and paste my post for the Bunker with tidbits from Bruce at the annual letterman’s meeting the night before the Arkansas game in a post in this thread.
Roundball is beautiful on the Plains right now. And next year could be even better. Soak it in friends.
