Auburn-Ole Miss men, 3/3

Hey everyone. I'm here at the Tad Pad, getting ready for the epic clash between Auburn and the Rebels of Old Mississippi. Some people say this arena is worse than Beard-Eaves. No way. This is better. It isn't Memorial Gym (Vandy) but it's definitely better than Auburn's joint.

*Before we start here with men's basketball, I have to pass this along. So I'm in my Oxford hotel room last night watching the Florida-Vanderbilt women's game -- I love Melanie Balcomb like you wouldn't believe -- and the first commercial after the broadcast was a pill for male enhancement. Surely I was the only man in the non-father division watching that game. Some advertising executive probably got a bonus for that decision ... thinking outside the box and all.

*Press-Register magnate Neal McCready asked me to say hello to all my faithful blog readers. He is sitting next to me at the BIG GAME. So to the three of you: Have a great day.

*Decatur (Ala.) Daily ace Bradley Handwerger is to my left. He has nothing nice to say.

*The player entrance to the Tad Pad is funny. It says:
BOILER ROOM
ARENA FLOOR

That's it.

*****

OLE MISS 83, AUBURN 79

KEYS TO THE GAME
*Auburn commits two costly full-court turnovers during the final minute. Those directly lead to two baskets (five points) that compromise the Tigers' chances.
*Ole Miss doesn't make silly mistakes during the final 10 minutes.
*Auburn finishes with 21 turnovers. Ole Miss finishes with a 19-point advantage in points-off-turnovers.
*Ole Miss PG Todd Abernethy plays calmly, scores when his team needs baskets and dishes out eight assists. His ability to keep his team organized under pressure was critical.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Auburn F Quan Prowell (26 points, 5 rebounds)
Scored 22 second-half points, single-handedly giving his team a chance to win. His assertiveness pulled Auburn from an emotional quagmire during the first few minutes of the second half.

(Ole Miss PG Todd Abernethy deserves consideration. I just thought Prowell was more impressive on an individual level.)

GAME COVERAGE
UM, 83-79 (final): More to come.

UM, 79-77 (0:33, 2nd): Yep. Quick turnaround. Clarence Sanders hit a three to tie it, Auburn turned over in the full court and Ole Miss quickly scored again. It can disappear that quickly.

AU, 77-74 (1:12, 2nd): Josh Dollard scored on a quick turnaround move.

AU, 75-74 (1:32, 2nd): It's tight. Robertson has fouled out, forcing DeWayne Reed into the featured ball-handling role alone. Rasheem Barrett actually made a play -- grabbing a rebound and getting a short drive to get Auburn to 75 points.

AU, 71-69 (3:44, 2nd): Gravy Train is rollin'! He now has 20 points in the second half ... and there's plenty of time remaining. He is the offense, scoring 14 of Auburn's last 18 points. The Ole Miss fans gasp when Prowell gets the ball. It's like: "Nooooo." Can he keep it up?

UM, 66-65 (7:19 2nd): These teams finally are playing at a high level concurrently. The early part of the second half was ugly. Now it's getting fun. Gravy Train Prowell has 15 points in this half. He's ballin'. Tolbert is NOT playing well today. They need to get him off the floor. The problem is that G Quantez Robertson has four fouls. He's sitting for now.

Tied, 56-56 (11:23, 2nd): F Quan Prowell, whom I call "Gravy Train", is going off in the second half. He has nine points this half; 13 overall. He's ready to play. He's a second-half player. Ole Miss looks confused on offense now that Abernethy can't operate freely.

UM, 51-45 (15:47, 2nd): Aside from a couple nice individual moves near the basket, Auburn's offense isn't getting much. It's clear that the Tigers are pressuring Ole Miss PG Todd Abernethy with more authority. I just don't see how Auburn can win this game with an offense this troubled.

UM (45-41): Ole Miss went on a 13-0 run late in the half. Auburn scored on its final three possessions to save face. The Tigers' offense is not performing right now. It's not really a matter of missing shots -- there haven't been many good shots to take. Auburn's defense was awful for a while, but toughened later. It looks like an effort thing to me.

Why is Rasheem Barrett playing this much? He hasn't accomoplished much in his 13 minutes.

Josh Dollard has 15 points so far. 5-7 from the field, 4-4 at the line, 4 assists, 5 rebounds.

AU, 35-34 (3:17, 1st): Auburn's offense isn't flowing. They're patient but Ole Miss is playing excellent defense. Ole Miss is getting too many offensive rebounds right now.

Tied, 26-26 (7:35, 1st): Auburn's low-percentage shots aren't falling now. Big surprise. Oh, and the Tigers now have two turnovers against the full-court press. I guess I jinxed them. G Frank Tolbert looks lost -- dumb passes and weird decisions. PG DeWayne Reed is playing with two fouls.

AU, 24-18 (11:26, 1st): Auburn's offense keeps rolling. Really, though, they're hitting a lot of low-percentage shots right now. It's just clicking. Ole Miss is still bombing away from the outside; hitting a few. The Tigers are really good at handling full-pressure defense. It's been that way all season.

AU, 12-9 (15:26, 1st): Not much going on yet. Auburn's offense has been patient, hence the Tigers' lead. Defensively, there isn't much data yet. Ole Miss seems anxious to fire away from outside. Not sure if that's a long-term strategy. PF Vot Barber just dropped a spin move ... best single play of the season for him. He's come a long way.

Developing ...

Auburn women choke in the SECs, 3/1

Hey everyone. I just finished watching the women's SEC Tournament game against South Carolina (*on TV) and I gotta say it was forseeable.

Auburn was up big in the second half. Then Auburn wasn't up big anymore. Then Auburn fell behind, played particularly poorly during the final two minutes and now thinks it'll qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Seriously? I know their RPI was in the 30s before this little debacle. Forget that. Auburn is 19-12 with six conference wins. Four came against Alabama and Florida -- two of the worst league teams I've ever seen. If this is an NCAA Tournament club, the NCAA seriously needs to consider cutting back to 32 teams.

How can a team keep choking away close games? It's just choke, choke, choke. I don't get it.

I like coach Nell Fortner personally. I am not convinced that she is a good strategist. Auburn's awful finishes against Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia have me wondering about Fortner's overall ability. Her team does not play intelligently in close games. Them's the facts.

* = I was attending football practice in Auburn.

Auburn-LSU, 2/28

Hey everyone. Let's get to it.

**Jeff Lebo is not coaching tonight. He is out with influenza. John Cooper is handling the sideline tonight. Not much difference in terms of strategy and substitution patterns.

AUBURN 80, LSU 68

KEYS TO THE GAME
*Auburn played with more vigor during the final 15 minutes after a tirade from Cooper.
*PF Korvotney Barber was active near the basket -- scoring, rebounding and banging with LSU's big guys on defense.
*Gs Tez Robertson and DeWayne Reed used their speed to push the ball in transition, which worked against LSU's plans.
*The team passed well tonight. I thought G/F Rasheem Barrett was particularly good with his passing near the basket. He played a subtle but important role.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Auburn PF Korvotney Barber (14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover)
*He gave Auburn brawn near the basket. He also played intelligently. Barber often is a turnover machine, though he was much more calculating tonight. It was a complete game.

IN-GAME COMMENTARY
AU, 77-67 (0:55, 2nd): Dwayne "Speed" Reed just hit a pair of free throws. Let the Line Challenge begin. Auburn is too far ahead for this to matter. Really nice second half for the Tigres de Cooper.

AU, 71-60 (3:12, 2nd): Auburn stayed aggressive on offense. They keep fighting for good shots, and they're making it look pretty easy. Dameon Mason scored at the 3:22 mark for LSU -- the first time someone other than Mitchell scored in 11 minutes. Isn't that nuts?

AU, 65-54 (5:58, 2nd): Tasmin Mitchell has scored LSU's last nine points. Might want to guard him. Kelvin Lewis played a lot early in this half. Those minutes came at the expense of Frank Tolbert, who sat on the bench for a looooong time. Defensive lapses, I'm sure.

AU, 62-48 (8:46, 2nd): Auburn is controlling the game right now. They're passing well near the basket, which is setting up easier stuff inside ... and free throws. Then Sheem Barrett and Dwayne "Speed" Reed came along and hit a couple of three pointers. Big time.

AU, 51-46 (11:59, 2nd): Auburn really found some offensive competence there for a little while. It scored on four of five possessions. The non-scoring situation ended with two missed free throws from Vot Barber. Auburn is playing hard right now. If the Tigers slow down, they're going to lose. You have to play hard against LSU. They're so fast.

AU, 43-42 (15:51, 2nd): Auburn opened the half with back-to-back turnovers. Nice. LSU got in the act a little later, though, going into this media timeout with three consecutive TOs. LSU is getting aggressive on the boards. The Tigers must counter that.

PERTINENT HALFTIME STAT:
*LSU outrebounding Auburn, 21-14

AU, 37-35 (halftime): Auburn went outside during the final few minutes of the half. It worked out. Quan Prowell and Sheem Barrett cashed out a pair of three-pointers. LSU burned Auburn with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Totally awful defense. Poor.

AU, 29-28 (3:58, 1st): LSU is so much faster. It shows on offense more. They settle for these awkward 12-foot shots. It looks like an NBA offense. I guess that works for them. Auburn, for the most part, is working the ball inside and taking their chances that way. Then Josh Dollard gets the ball along the perimeter -- and he just can't look away. He shoots. He's 1 for 3 so far.

LSU, 22-21 (7:48, 1st): Auburn is having some rebounding trouble now. LSU is getting too many second-chance opportunities. F Vot Barber is getting free inside, though, and has been drawing fouls with aplomb. The Tigers have been pretty handsy up top -- several deflected passes have turned into fast breaks.

LSU, 16-11 (11:57, 1st): Auburn led 6-0, then fell behind 12-6. LSU is so quick and long on offense. It looks like the Tigers are boxing out for now. It's too early to draw other conclusions, though.