Auburn def. UT-Martin, 87-82 (NIT first round)

Hey everyone. Welcome to Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, where your Auburn Tigers are playing UT-Martin. This is the first round of NIT play.

• FINAL
  Auburn wins, 87-82.
  
  
• FOURTH TO @ 2:59, 2nd half
  Auburn leads, 76-69. The Tigers have missed their last four free throws, surprising noone. Were it not for some questionable shots on UTM's part, you know, I think they'd be ahead. Hudson is so good off the dribble, but he's in love with the guarded 23-foot jumper.
  
  
• THIRD TO @ 7:37, 2nd half
  Auburn leads, 73-63. Hudson is a real problem for the Tigers, which had to be expected. He has 24 right now. He's basically the only guy making things happen for his ballclub, but Auburn seems awkward on offense right now. I can't really discern a plan.
  
  
• FIRST TO @ 15:14, 2nd half
  Auburn leads, 56-50. The Tigers are getting lax on the defensive end. Hudson is eating them alive. He breaks away off the dribble and, with a pick, Auburn can't hang with him. I'm surprised Barber isn't more of an offensive factor. He looks out of place with these thin dudes from UTM.
  
  
• HALFTIME
  Auburn leads, 46-35. The Tigers lost sight of Hudson there for a moment and he scored eight points. With a quickness. Auburn still is in command of this game, but the momentum changed during the final three minutes of the half.
  
  
• FOURTH TO @ 3:37, 1st
  Auburn leads, 39-22. Larry Williams Jr., the walk-on point guard, is in the game with more than two minutes remaining. Robertson has eight points. I feel like we're in an alternate universe.
  
  
• THIRD TO @ 6:12, 1st
  Auburn leads, 37-19. The Tigers are unusually accurate from three-point range tonight. Team already has seven threes. It's a mess out there -- UTM just fires away from outside and doesn't hit much. I don't see much creativity.
  
  
• UTM TO @ 10:31, 1st
  Auburn leads, 26-15. Best minute of Auburn basketball this season. Two Brendon Knox free throws, steal, dunk by Frankie Sullivan, UTM miss, Barrett jumper, UTM miss, Robertson three. TIMEOUT.
  
  
• SECOND TO @ 11:40, 1st
  Auburn leads, 17-15. Seems like the Tigers' defense has slacked a bit. Hudson is very fast off the dribble. Robertson will be in good position -- and he's a pretty god defender -- and Hudson will effortlessly pass by. Hudson now is 2-for-5 with four points. Barber and Waller each have two fouls.
  
  
• FIRST TO @ 15:31, 1st
  Auburn leads, 11-4. Lester Hudson, UTM's top player, is 1-for-4 with two points so far. Looks like Quantez Robertson drew that assignment.
  
  
• YOUR AUBURN STARTERS
  PG -- Speed Reed, not Shoot Reed
  SG -- Tez Robertson, boyfriend of Sherell Hobbs
  SF -- Tay Waller aka The Streak
  "PF" -- Rasheem Barrett, sporting a new shave on his head
  C -- Korvotney Barber, player
  
  
• Tipoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
  
  
• Crowd better than I expected. It's probably in the 4,000 range.
  
  
• UT-Martin's uniforms look similar to Auburn's, though they are manufactured by Nike.