The Auburn Tigers dropped their third game in the last four on Saturday with a 70-65 loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Tigers lead 33-32 at halftime, but the Volunteers went on a second half run to eventually lead 60-49 after a Zakai Zeigler three-pointer. A Chad Baker-Mazara layup with 1:16 remaining made the score 68-65, but Auburn could not get find anymore points.
Tennessee went into this tournament wanting to show why they should be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament while reports show that Auburn is still the frontrunner to land the No. 1 overall seed. Head coach Bruce Pearl believes the Tigers have shown they are worthy of that.
“I believe that this team has, from start to finish, done enough to be the No. 1 overall seed in this (NCAA) tournament,” Pearl said after Auburn’s SEC Tournament semifinal loss. “Our resume is historically one of the strongest resumes in the history of college basketball. Certainly losing to No. 8 Tennessee shouldn’t knock us off that spot.”
Auburn’s performance at the free throw line was one of the big difference makers. The Volunteers were excellent going 25-for-27. Auburn was not as good, going 13-for-22.
“We fouled them too much. They scored 37 percent of their points from the foul line. That’s on us,” Pearl said. “We didn’t convert some inside shots and some free throws, things like that you have to do to win a close game. You hold them to 70, you’ve still got a chance.”
Glancing at statistics, SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome played another good game. He scored 23 points and had seven rebounds. He struggled with his free shooting though, going 5-for-12. He had an opportunity with 0:29 to get the Tigers within two points but missed both free throws.
Pearl says that he hopes to put the team’s recent struggles behind in the NCAA Tournament.
“I can hardly wait until next weekend and start playing again. Let’s get to Sunday, let’s find out where we’re going, let’s get back to work”, Pearl said.
Auburn now looks ahead to next week with the NCAA Tournament and where they will be playing. Also, who they will be playing. The NCAA Tournament selection show is set to begin at 5 p.m. CT.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Bruce Pearl defends Auburn’s chance for No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament
