montgomeryadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:
2.24.2007

Auburn-Alabama, 2/24

Hey everyone. I'm blogging from Coleman Coliseum. Some technology-related issues precluded me from first-half computer work. It's been rectified.

AUBURN 86, ALABAMA 77

KEYS TO THE GAME
*Creating a frenzied offensive attack by pushing the tempo in transition kept Alabama's defense out of alignment.
*F Quan Prowell scored 15 points in the second half, emerging as the go-to scorer.
*PG DeWayne Reed channeled his speed in useful ways Saturday. He's been totally out of control at times this season. Reed made some mistakes this time, but he was pretty calm and calculating overall. He finished with five assists and five turnovers.
*Auburn out-rebounded Alabama, 32-30.
*SG Rasheem Barrett and G Kelvin Lewis came off the bench to hit a pair of three-point shots apiece.
*Great late-game work at the free-throw line for the Tigers. They hit 14 of their last 18.
*Auburn, now 6-8 in SEC play, still has a chance to finish in the top half of the Western Division. The two remaining games: at home against LSU (2/28) and at Ole Miss on March 3.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Auburn F Quan Prowell: He scored 17 points (including 15 in the second half) and added five rebounds. His trio of three-point shots in the second half helped the Tigers overcome Alabama's rally.

IN-GAME COMMENTARY
AU, 86-77 (final): Auburn finished 14 of 18 at the free-throw line during the final two minutes. That's pretty impressive. The Tigers earned a season sweep against Alabama for the first time since 1999. It's only their second win in Tuscaloosa in 23 seasons.

AU, 84-75 (:24, 2nd): Auburn hit its free throws. Well, enough of them. The team is 12 of 16 at the free-throw line since the 1:39 mark.

AU, 80-68 (1:12, 2nd): Quantez Robertson is now 4 of 4 from the line during the past minute. Frank Tolbert is 2 for 2. Dewayne Reed is 2 for 2. Auburn is going to win. This isn't a great team, but this is an important win for the Tigers.

AU, 74-68 (1:27, 2nd): This is going to go into Auburn free-throw mode now. Let's see if the Tigers can make it happen at the line. They were terrible there early in the season. They've been better recently.

AU, 72-63 (1:50, 2nd): Auburn is trying to get this thing home with one headlight. The offense is a mess, but the team is getting enough one-man baskets to stay ahead. Nothing is coming easy. That may not matter. It's late.

AU, 70-61 (3:32, 2nd): Auburn's offense has lost its swerve. F Frank Tolbert just scored on a powerful drive down the lane. The guy never fails to impress me with his verve. I think his mind moves so fast that pressure doesn't bother him. Pressure would be a distraction for Tolbert, who's always tracking the ball like a bird dog. He has downside, sure, but his effort always is there.

AU, 68-59 (5:33, 2nd): Alabama is making its surge. PF Richard Hendrix is mauling the Tigers inside. Three times in the past three minutes, Hendrix has collected missed shots and either scored directly or scored on free-throw shots. Auburn must make an adjustment there.

AU, 68-53 (7:14, 2nd): F Quan Prowell just made what has become a typical play today. When Auburn's offense didn't produce an easy basket, Prowell just popped out along the perimeter and cashed out a three-point shot. He has 13 points in this half already.

AU, 63-48 (8:59, 2nd): Auburn just had a 90-second possession. Kept missing, kept getting offensive rebounds. It ended with a turnover. Doesn't help Alabama's cause much. The Tide needs to keep this game going.

AU, 61-44 (11:35, 2nd): Auburn is pressing the tempo. I mean, it is doing everything possible to get the ball down the court as quickly as possible. That plan seems to be working. The Tigers are up 17 points. This is nuts. I know this isn't the best Tide team ever -- and PG Ronald Steele is hurt -- but Auburn rarely wins in Tuscaloosa. This looks like a different Auburn team: Patient, shrewd, calculating.

AU, 49-40 (15:46, 2nd): Still thriving on offense. Something that struck me is how much progress I'm seeing from PG Dewayne Reed in terms of his ball-handling. He cannot shoot a lick, but Reed is exceptionally quick with the ball. He was spazzing out early in the season. He's more calm now. He may be a good distributive point after all.

AU, 44-34 (18:33, 2nd): Wow. Great start for the Tigers, who have scored on each of their first three possessions of the second half. They've been what I call "system baskets". They're basically scripted plays - and they've been working perfectly. Barber, F Quan Prowell and G Frank Tolbert have taken passes along the baseline and popped up for easy scores. Auburn is exposing a problem with the Tide's defense. It's weak in that low corner.

HALFTIME THOUGHTS:
*Auburn leads, 38-34.
*Auburn is playing excellent defense on Alabama SF Alonzo Gee. It's Gee who seems to kill Auburn most of the time, so coach Jeff Lebo is making sure that doesn't happen this time. Gee is scoreless in 14 minutes so far.
*The Tide's offense makes no sense to me. They have such a major advantage inside with C Jermareo Davidson and PF Richard Hendrix. Though they have combined to score 16 points, a lot of those are from cleaning up after missed shots.
*Reed is 0 for 4. He has to be the worst shooter in the SEC. Just has to be.
*PF Korvotney Barber is balling today. More to come on that.
2.21.2007

Auburn-Arkansas, 2/22

Hey everyone. I'll be live blogging from the Arkansas-Auburn game, which begins momentarily. So check back every few minutes. I update at every timeout. They come every four minutes or so.

AU, 67-59 (final): Auburn hits 8 of 10 free throws during the final three minutes to win. Not bad.

AU, 57-51 (2:49, 2nd): It's getting tight. Arkansas F Charles Thomas is making some big shots. Auburn F Korvotney Barber made a few, then F Josh Dollard just hit a 6-foot jumper. Maybe the Tigers won't wig out. I mean, sooner or later ... right?

AU, 51-45 (6:00, 2nd): Frank Tolbert time. As Auburn's situation was getting more and more dire, he steps up with a tip-in and a three-point shot. Arkansas is concentrating on offensive rebounds right now. They're really fighting in there. They have more size and skill than the Tigers, so this could be an interesting situation during the next six minutes.

AU, 42-38 (11:35, 2nd): Auburn lost its defensive focus, and it paid a price. Arkansas now has scored on three consecutive possessions. Auburn is in a mode right now where it's not rebounding on the offensive end. It's one-and-done.

AU, 37-27 (16:53, 2nd): Auburn is back being patient again, and it's widening its lead. You think this would be easy to understand now. Arkansas opened the half with a score. Since then: Three consecutive turnovers. The Tigers are being smart on defense and anticipating passes.

Some halftime stats of note:
*Shooting %: Auburn 32.4, Arkansas 36
*3pt Shooting %: Auburn 25 (3-12), Arkansas 0 (0-9)
*Rebounding: Auburn 27, Arkansas 16
*Both teams are 7 of 10 at the free-throw line.

AU, 32-25 (halftime): Quantez Robertson ended the half by tipping in a miss by Reed. The buzzer went off right after the ball went through the net. Robertson didn't stop to watch. He just ran out of the arena like nothing had happened. Cool. Arkansas has been turnover-prone today, and that's letting Auburn stay ahead depsite a pretty average effort overall.

AU, 28-21 (3:44, 1st): Lucas Hargrove sighting! The freshman is playing. He played at Georgia, too, but I wasn't at Georgia. And he SCORED. Yea. Lucas Hargrove scored in an SEC game, ruining SEC betting pools from Columbia to Baton Rouge. Auburn finally cracked a minute ago. The team started going too fast. The result? Five turnovers in six possession. That's why Auburn can't win consistently right now.

AU, 24-14 (6:59, 1st): Still seeing a patient Auburn offense, which is just ... breathtaking. Haven't seen this all season. The Tigers are attacking the basket more aggressively than usual, and clearly aren't afraid to go inside against Arkansas' 7-foot guy. Reed still is in the game. He's actually been OK.

AU, 17-11 (11:50, 1st): Auburn still moving along nicely. The team is patient on offense. The defensive intensity is there, though Arkansas still is scoring. Probably not a good sign for the Tigers.

AU, 8-5 (15:32, 1st): Dewayne Reed started at G in place of Rasheem Barrett. Surprises me. Reed hit a three-pointer already. That's even more surprising. Reed played so poorly against Arkansas two weeks ago. I cannot understand why Jeff Lebo would take this risk. Weird.

follow me on Twitter

• THE RING OF FIRE •
INAUGURAL CLASS
Phormerly Phred
Scottie B. in Tennessee
crudup
Hoopie
Ron Mexico
hip-hopanonymous
AUnMobilz
Sullivan013
Scott from Tucson
scottatl
jhag **FRANCHISE PLAYER**

CLASS OF 2008
Peter Frankenschmidt
Mr. Sensible
WarEagleRK

CLASS OF 2009
eddie4au
FakeSteveJobs (aka FSJ)
AUBigCat
michael
Steve from Columbia (aka SteveFC)
kristina
Jet

WHERE EAGLES SOAR
AUFan365 was Larry Bailey, 1948-2010

FEELING THE HEAT
WarEagleGirl
TarHeelTiger
Kathy
D. Miller
Dear Leader
j-z
Norm
digger4au
Harrison
LuvAU1968
cincytiger
mytommyd (is supposed to be mrtommyd)
ehyoutiger
wtc
IV
wakeriderof87
Sean
Scott Chocolate
NoVaTiger
Taylor
BinOBA
wes
Aeronaut
chip chip
Spongeworthy
Loganville Tiger
E-Bro
Ephemeral
au1n04
FearlessFreep
coosa
bear82
wartiger
patdyeswildturkey
atlantatiger
JD the Biscuitator
shesaid
depressedAUfan
dnatl

NOTABLE NEWCOMERS
Cousin Humpers = Bammers (aka CH=B)
dan dan the AU fan
bellefay1
API
Jay 'W. not Tate'
missinit
Craig Miller
AU1292
MLF
Comm'r of Flesh Wounds
Stupup74
61northak
Jimmy
bigdaddy334
Secondaid
Andrew
SCoats
astatguy
Jason Crawford
paulmain
Lowcountry Tiger
BigEZ
Will
WDCWE

MY PEEPS
Wifey
cpf
GritzNGravy
roundtable
Josh_Moon
MrsFrontRim & FrontRim
ChuckCrim
troyznoiz

FIRST DOCUMENTED POSTER
Buck

BANHAMMERED
Hamburglar
ROLLTIDEROLL
hairydawg
DavidOku
Jay_G (an impostor)
WarEagleogDotCom

Powered by Blogger

Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]

Advertisement