Takeaways from Auburn basketball’s win over Loyola Chicago
The defense finally pulled itself together for the Tigers.
Auburn handled. Loyola Chicago 62-53 in the consolation bracket of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. The Tigers needed to figure some things out on the defensive end after letting UConn score 115 points in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis yesterday, and it still took them a half to figure it out in this one.
Loyola Chicago was shooting over 70% from the floor and 60% from three as the first half came to a close. The Ramblers finished the day shooting 44.7% overall and 30.4% from deep.
Here are five takeaways from Auburn’s win.
Walker Kessler is inconsistent, but very valuable
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Kessler has earned the ill-advised threes that he takes (he’s shooting 1.6% on the season) because of his aggressive presence at the rim. The bucket hat goat finished with his second double-double of the tournament, with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals in the game.
Auburn needs to settle down on offense
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Auburn is still figuring out their half court offense, and in this game the Tigers had several non-steal turnovers in their sets that were not ideal.
Jabari Smith is smooth
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Jabari Smith had a team-high 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He’s got a polished shooting stroke that will only get better as the season goes on.
Auburn's guards are good, but undersized
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Wendell Green Jr. and Zep Jasper are talented, can score and play with a lot of intensity. They’re good players. But they have trouble fighting through screens and staying on the ball. A beneficial aspect of Pearl’s defense is that he liked to switch a lot when screens and movement comes, but there will be the occasional moments where Auburn gets caught in man and Wendell Green gets left behind on defense.
Auburn can play on the big stage
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The Tigers have shown through their first two games in the tournament that they are talented enough to hang in neutral environments with tough competition.
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