Auburn basketball’s defense travels for OSU win. But offense has been traveling, too

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ATLANTA — Through 10 games, it’s clear the circumstance hasn’t been much of a matter for Auburn basketball.

A semi-neutral site game against a top-five in their hometown? It was an Auburn win. Three games against Quad 1 teams — two of which were ranked — in one of the most prestigious early season MTE? All three were Auburn wins.

Even the Tigers’ lone loss, against a top-10 team on their home court, was at No. 4 Duke. In Cameron Indoor Stadium. And Auburn only lost by two possessions. No. 2 Auburn proved the point again Saturday at State Farm Arena, securing another Quad 1 victory over Ohio State, and doing so in blowout fashion, beating the Buckeyes 91-53.

3 TAKEAWAYS: Our observations from Auburn basketball’s Ohio State win

Defense was the highlight, as the Tigers stymied one of the nation’s best 3-point shooting squads. But even as Johni Broome notched his first career 20-20 game, it was easy to overlook: While Auburn’s defense has traveled this season, its offense has done the same.

“When Miles (Kelly), or Chad (Baker-Mazara), or Denver (Jones), or Tahaad (Pettiford) are shooting the ball, they think it’s going in,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Jahki (Howard), too. They think it’s going in. So, that effect on the perimeter — Chaney Johnson and Johni Broome, our bigs can shoot it, too. You’ve got to get out and guard us on the perimeter, which opens up things on the inside.”

It’s a simple fact that Auburn (9-1) has scorers. Kelly, Baker-Mazara, Jones, Pettiford, Howard, Johnson and Broome have all had their explosive performances this season. As a conglomerate, their numbers haven’t dropped off away from Neville Arena.

In its six non-home games, Auburn is averaging 83.5 points. It’s shooting 48.3% from the field and 36.5% from distance, and it’s crushing the offensive glass. The Tigers have out-rebounded opponents away from Neville Arena with a plus-22.

The numbers for the entire season are marginally different at most.

The Tigers are averaging 87.0 points per game…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/auburn-basketballs-defense-travels-osu-090222298.html

Author : The Montgomery Advertiser

Publish date : 2024-12-15 09:02:00

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