Thoughts and observations from Auburn's victory over UConn.
- Pearl said it after the game: These aren't the usual Oklahoma and UConn teams that we're accustomed to seeing in the NCAA Tournament. Still, Auburn beat them both during a 48-hour period and that's progress. There's no real way to argue that.
- Jared Harper really showed us something today. You know, he was a scorer in high school. At Auburn, he's generally been a facilitator and primary ball-handler. That changed Friday because, well, everyone else was having trouble scoring. Danjel Purifoy was ice cold from everywhere, which his 1-of-10 shooting line explains quite clearly. Mustapha Heron finished with 15 points, which is good, but he needed 22 shots to get there, which is bad. T.J. Dunans had no trouble creating advantageous position going toward the rim, but he couldn't finish much of anything Friday. That left Harper to make things work -- and he came through. He was fearless sprinting (or hopping) into the lane and mixing it up with UConn's 6-foot-10 and 7-foot shot blockers. He had a few shots rejected, yes, but damn if Harper didn't get going in there with ruthless determination. That really says something about his resolve.
- Harper's 22 points, which included 13 during the second half and overtime combined, were the difference. Every single one of those buckets came at an important juncture.
- As a coach, you have to give it up to Danjel Purifoy. Keep in mind: We're talking about a guy who had a pair of 27-point games earlier this month. He hit one basket Friday, though it was a very important three with around a minute to go in overtime. Still, Purifoy finished with 15 (!!) rebounds and played 44 of the game's 45 minutes. The good players know how to help even when their shots aren't felling. He didn't allow that disappointment wreck his approach to other parts of his game. That's commendable.
- UConn coach Kevin Ollie, a former NBA player, watched tape of Auburn struggling to adjust to different defenses in recent games against Oklahoma, Mercer and Boston College. He did it one better: He switched defenses more than a dozen times Friday -- at times showing a 2-3 zone, a 3-2 zone, man-to-man and what looked like a Box-and-1 scheme at one stage of the first half. On the one hand, you'd have to say it worked insofar as Auburn shot 33 percent from the floor. On the other hand, Auburn didn't suffer through those long periods of scoring-end chaos Friday afternoon. It seemed like Harper was more forceful about identifying the defense and calling plays aimed at attacking that specific defensive posture. I'm not saying the Tigers' attack was sterling, but I didn't sense much confusion. That's potentially a big development.
- Auburn finished this game with seven assists on 25 baskets. That is an intolerably low assist percentage. Former Auburn coach Sonny Smith said on the radio broadcast that the Tigers were "playing for themselves and not for their teammates" today. I fully agree with what he's saying. We talked about it in this space a few days back: Auburn passes the ball around enough, but it doesn't pass with enough purpose. Auburn has too many possession enders right now rather than chance creators. It's OK to create chances for yourself at times. Yet guys like Purifoy and T.J. Dunans too often take possession of the ball with a pre-determined outcome in their head. That's not an entirely bad idea, but that can't be a player's general approach to life on the scoring end. It drives Pearl crazy, I assure you.
- LaRon Smith played four minutes Friday. He played nine minutes the other night. I realize he has limited scoring-end potential, but Smith is supposed to be a major defensive asset. With Wiley playing relatively well in his limited deployments and Anfernee McLemore stepping up, chances may be limited for Smith moving forward. And that doesn't take Horace Spencer into account. I'm not sure what to think here.
- Speaking of Spencer, he played three minutes Friday. That single shift yielded a foul, a very spaz-tastic turnover and a block. Pretty much par for the course with him.
- Bryce Brown, who was suspended alongside Spencer when the two were popped last week for misdemeanor marijuana possession, didn't play Friday. That seems odd to me.
- Wiley finished with 20 minutes against UConn after logging 18 minutes against Oklahoma and 15 against Mercer. He appears to be making progress in terms of earning trust from both Pearl and associate head coach Chuck Person. With that said, Wiley finished with three rebounds in those 20 minutes Friday. The freshman now has six rebounds in his last 38 minutes of floor time. That's way too low for a guy who's 6-foot-11.
- Auburn is 10-2 for the first time since 2002-03, which was the last season Auburn made the NCAA Tournament. I can't tell if this team can make a similar kind of push in February and March. Pearl said it best: "I’ve got so much to work with — and so much work to do." Indeed he does.
