Auburn basketball has a problem: The Tigers can't seem to take the show on the road
The sky is not yet falling for Auburn basketball.
The Tigers, who entered the week winners of 11 straight as arguably the hottest team in the country, have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Coach Bruce Pearl's squad couldn't overcome a shaky first half at Alabama on Wednesday, and offensive issues doomed it against Mississippi State on Saturday.
Auburn remains a threat to win the SEC title, and the metrics still love the Tigers − they fell from No. 4 to No. 7 in the KenPom rankings after the loss to the Bulldogs − but securing a Quadrant 1 victory is needed to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume. Regardless, a couple of close losses don't equate to the season being over.
That's not to say Auburn (16-4, 5-2 SEC) doesn't have a problem, though. The Tigers have struggled in true road games this season, and they have five more contests of that variety to take care of before the postseason begins.
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Auburn's shooting numbers in opponents' venues are dismal this season, earning a 40.4% mark from the field and a 24.4% rate from 3-point range in five road matchups. The Tigers are 2-3 in those games, and the numbers in the losses − Appalachian State, Alabama and Mississippi State − are even uglier at 35.4% and 18.4%, respectively.
Losing away from home isn't uniquely Auburn, as seven of the country's top 10 teams in the NET rankings entered Saturday with an away record at .500 or worse. But it's an issue the Tigers must overcome if they want to be taken seriously on the national level.
Fixing the problem starts with taking higher-percentage shots, according to Pearl. All-SEC center Johni Broome had a team-high 14 points in the loss to the Bulldogs, but he only registered seven attempts. Auburn missed 18 of the 24 triples it tried.
"I've got some guys that just are struggling to shoot the ball, and they need to stop," Pearl said on the postgame radio show. "They just need to stop shooting if they can't make it. As a result (of them stopping), the ball will move and maybe you'll have a chance to get (Broome) more than seven shots. But we can't, because the ball is just getting chucked up there."
Auburn returns to Neville Arena for a meeting with Vanderbilt on Wednesday before it'll get its next shot in an away enviornment at Ole Miss on Feb. 3. That figures to be an opportunity for a Quadrant 1 victory as long as the Rebels remain a top-75 team in the NET. They're currently at No. 61.
"I think they're competitive. I think they want to win," Pearl said of the Tigers. "... We didn't play as well. We didn't make as many shots. We didn't have as good of an assist-to-turnover ratio. We didn't get easy baskets in transition. We didn't execute. A lot of it had to do with Mississippi State.
"Certainly, the environments are tough. But you have to step up to beat the best teams on your schedule. Johni stepped up this weekend. Johni Broome stepped up in both games. And, really, nobody else can say that. Including the coaching staff."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Loss at Mississippi State part of bigger issue for Auburn basketball
