What a game, what a season. The guys came out playing excellent on both sides of the ball and took control of this game early. Missed an opportunity when we were up by 15 to put them away, but did a nice job of answering their run to go to the half up 9. The guys answered every run MSU managed in the second half. When Broome went out with the injury, the other guys never waivered and kept up the suffocating D and grinding away on offense to maintain control of the game. It was apparent during this one that we were facing one of the greatest coaches of all time as Izzo made adjustments any time we started to dominate them which kept them in the game. Making the final 4 is an amazing accomplishment regardless, but for Bruce to do it by defeating one of the all-time great coaches makes it that much more impressive.
This win removes any doubt that this is the greatest team in program history. They had the best regular season ever to win the greatest conference in the history of the sport. Now have the most wins and have made the final 4. The 2019 team was special, but they are not close to what this team has accomplished across the entire season. This team illustrated why the regular season matters so much in this sport as earning a 1 seed gives you a favorable path to the final 4 as opposed to the gauntlet we had to run to get there in 2019. For my money, this team is also the greatest in Auburn history in any sport. Winning a football title during the old BCS format was significantly easier than making the final 4 in basketball. Add that to the fact this team won the greatest conference in the history of the sport and you have the all-time greatest team in Auburn history.
On the note of all-time greats, the Johni statue should be built immediately after the conclusion of this season, regardless what happens next weekend. He has had the best season in program history after being one of our best players ever the last 2 years. Returning to the game today after injuring his elbow was the most epic moment of an incredible season. Had he not been injured, he may have gone for a carer high points today as he was completely unstoppable whenever we got him into the post. 25 points and 14 boards despite missing 6+ minutes with an injury and then playing hurt makes this his best game of his career.
Haad was our only other guy in double figures today scoring. He never got rolling the way he did in the last 2 rounds, but he hit some huge shots when we needed to answer MSU to maintain control of the game. 3 assists and 0 turnovers was huge.
CBM did not have a flashy day scoring, but he was also a big part of this win. 5 assists and 0 turnovers. As a team we only had 6 turnovers after we had 10 in just the first half against Michigan. Of all the things we did well today, valuing the ball may have been the most important and CBM really embodied that after he was very sloppy on Friday.
On to our 2nd Final 4 in the last 6 years. On the one hand, that's difficult to even imagine as an Auburn fan. On the other hand, this team proved all season long that it can beat any team in the country so no one should have doubted they would get to San Antonio. The losses after we locked up the SEC title and were not playing at full speed obscured the fact this team had the best resume in the country by a wide margin. This team can beat Florida who is only in the final 4 due to an epic collapse by TTU. This team has beaten Houston and would have beaten Duke on their floor if one of their bench warmers had not hit a miracle 6 3s. They can win it all. Making that a reality will require us to pay our best and be fortunate. Regardless of the outcome, this is the greatest team in Auburn history and may be the best any of us see in our life times. Let's all take some time the next few days to reflect on how fortunate we have been as fans to be part of this historic run.
This win removes any doubt that this is the greatest team in program history. They had the best regular season ever to win the greatest conference in the history of the sport. Now have the most wins and have made the final 4. The 2019 team was special, but they are not close to what this team has accomplished across the entire season. This team illustrated why the regular season matters so much in this sport as earning a 1 seed gives you a favorable path to the final 4 as opposed to the gauntlet we had to run to get there in 2019. For my money, this team is also the greatest in Auburn history in any sport. Winning a football title during the old BCS format was significantly easier than making the final 4 in basketball. Add that to the fact this team won the greatest conference in the history of the sport and you have the all-time greatest team in Auburn history.
On the note of all-time greats, the Johni statue should be built immediately after the conclusion of this season, regardless what happens next weekend. He has had the best season in program history after being one of our best players ever the last 2 years. Returning to the game today after injuring his elbow was the most epic moment of an incredible season. Had he not been injured, he may have gone for a carer high points today as he was completely unstoppable whenever we got him into the post. 25 points and 14 boards despite missing 6+ minutes with an injury and then playing hurt makes this his best game of his career.
Haad was our only other guy in double figures today scoring. He never got rolling the way he did in the last 2 rounds, but he hit some huge shots when we needed to answer MSU to maintain control of the game. 3 assists and 0 turnovers was huge.
CBM did not have a flashy day scoring, but he was also a big part of this win. 5 assists and 0 turnovers. As a team we only had 6 turnovers after we had 10 in just the first half against Michigan. Of all the things we did well today, valuing the ball may have been the most important and CBM really embodied that after he was very sloppy on Friday.
On to our 2nd Final 4 in the last 6 years. On the one hand, that's difficult to even imagine as an Auburn fan. On the other hand, this team proved all season long that it can beat any team in the country so no one should have doubted they would get to San Antonio. The losses after we locked up the SEC title and were not playing at full speed obscured the fact this team had the best resume in the country by a wide margin. This team can beat Florida who is only in the final 4 due to an epic collapse by TTU. This team has beaten Houston and would have beaten Duke on their floor if one of their bench warmers had not hit a miracle 6 3s. They can win it all. Making that a reality will require us to pay our best and be fortunate. Regardless of the outcome, this is the greatest team in Auburn history and may be the best any of us see in our life times. Let's all take some time the next few days to reflect on how fortunate we have been as fans to be part of this historic run.
Last edited:
