(Author's note: Here we are at the start of football season in 2019 and I just now posting my one basketball post of the year. I apologize, I am also working on my football preview post as well but knew I had to finally write something about basketball. It was the greatest basketball season in Auburn history. It was was one that I do not think will ever be matched but Auburn's first Final Four game was also the most painful loss in Auburn basketball history. I am still not over it and may never be. I just could not even think about it for months after the loss but it is time now.)
THE FINAL FOUR... FINALLY. I did not think I would see it. I honestly thought that it would never happen. Auburn as recorded in this blog many times has been the worst team in the SEC since the SEC went to divisions in 1992. It has even been bad under Bruce Pearl as again I recorded on this blog. Of course the program looked completely dead till Pearl finally showed some life his first two seasons but things still looked bad. After the Chuck Person incident it looked like even Pearl could not save Auburn basketball but then last season happened.
Auburn, as I wrote, "rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of its own fiery demise." The gutty Tigers led by Pearl somehow someway won the SEC regular season championship. It was simply amazing and one of the greatest feats in Auburn's long and storied sports history. This remains true even though the team then fell apart in the SEC and NCAA tournaments due to injuries and fatigue. This postseason plunge also did not dissipate the excitement coming into this last season. Auburn had a lot of these players coming back along with some good new ones. Many fans and pundits thought that this group could also do something very special.
Auburn returned its dynamic duo at the guard positions, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown, along with plenty of other good experienced players in Horace Spencer, Danjel Purifoy, Malik Dunbar, Chuma Okeke, Anfernee McLemore and Austin Wiley. Pearl added to that core transfers Javon McCormick and Samir Doughty who we had been hearing about the whole last year in practice after he transferred in. On paper and on the practice court this team looked like the dominating unit it finally turned into but it sure took awhile to take off. I always had my doubts because Auburn basketball has not put together two good years in a row many times in its entire history especially two special years in a row.
I had just seen it too many times. The 2000 Auburn team was supposed to be great after the previous best season in Auburn history in 1999 as it returned just about as many starters and impact players. However that team was just never that good and kind of fell apart. I have seen so many Auburn basketball seasons go off the rails that even with all these good players led by Bruce Pearl I never thought this team would do a whole lot. I did not even think this team would make the NCAA tournament after a 60-55 loss to Ole Miss at home on February 13th. I turned this game on late and watched the end of and saw these guys absolutely blow it at home against Ole Miss to drop to 5-6 in conference midway through February. I turned the TV off with disgust and went on a rant with my wife and son in the room saying this season was OVER.
Auburn rallied to beat Vandy and Arkansas but then got absolutely bludgeoned by Kentucky 80-53 to fall back to .500 in conference. At this point I was just hoping for the Tigers to finish with a winning record in conference. That is a big deal for Auburn because it does not happen very much. That Kentucky loss sparked something in this team though. It sparked the most incredible run in Auburn basketball history. I am still shaking my head. Auburn would reel off four consecutive wins to end the season including beating Bama on the road and getting a huge win at home over a Tennessee team that was playing for the SEC regular season championship. The Tigers would finish the regular season with an 11-7 record in conference which considering where they were in February was a pretty good accomplishment. However no one could know or even imagine what was to come...
I cannot count the number of times I have watched an Auburn basketball team get run in the first or second round of the SEC tournament even decent Auburn teams. The last horrific one was the season before last where Auburn got beat by a Missouri team that was probably one of the worst teams in SEC basketball history. You just get numb after a while and do not expect much out of Auburn in the SEC basketball tournament especially after I took off work last season to watch Auburn play Bama in the SEC tournament and Bama absolutely destroyed a tired shorthanded Auburn team that had used everything it had to win the SEC regular season championship. As I said in my post on last season I understood and was still happy with the season but that did not make it any easier to watch.
Any way back to this past season... Auburn was again matched up against a bad Missouri team and I was scared of history repeating itself. The Tigers from Missouri did play really well but Auburn won behind Bryce Brown's five three-pointers and a double-double by Horace Spencer who also added four blocks. I then saw Auburn had South Carolina next who this team had struggled against this season and last. Auburn was 1-2 against the Gamecocks barely pulling out a win at home at the end of last season. My confidence was not high but Auburn's dynamic duo of Bryce Brown and Jared Harper led the way to another win. Both played over 30 minutes in the game with Harper scoring 27 points and Brown adding 19 plus 10 from Samir Doughty.
Auburn was into the semi-finals and now I started to get excited because Auburn rarely makes it this far in the SEC tournament. I am not one of those that considers conference tournaments meaningless and only hope for a couple of wins in the NCAA tournament. I would rather win a tournament championship than win a few in the NCAAs. I knew we had beaten Florida pretty good at home earlier in the season but I knew we would get their best shot here. They gave it to us but Jared Harper showed he was Mr. Clutch once again. He buried a three-pointer and a big free throw in the closing seconds to close out the Gators. Harper ended with 20 points while Bryce Brown added 11.
It was definitely Jared Harper and Bryce Brown leading the way but Auburn was getting clutch baskets, rebounds and great defense from the rest of the guys as well. Chuma Okeke, Anfernee Mclemore, Malik Dunbar, Samir Doughty and J'Von McCormick all played really well. Auburn was now in to the championship game. I believe that has only happened twice before in modern SEC tournament history. Auburn won the tournament in overtime against Bama in 1985 (one of my all-time favorite Auburn basketball games) and lost to Arkansas in the finals in 2000. The Tigers just do not get this opportunity very often and many times that is because they run into everyone's nemesis, the Kentucky Wildcats. Luckily for the Tigers this season, Tennessee upset Kentucky in the other semi-final. That was huge, Tennessee is a very good team but Auburn just did not match up with Kentucky well (or so I thought).
However even with Auburn getting a better matchup, nobody could have anticipated what happened on Sunday March 17, 2019. I could not believe it and could not have enjoyed it more. The Tigers absolutely ran the Volunteers out of the gym (!!!). It was unbelievable. It ended 84-64 but it was worse than that. Auburn forced 10 turnovers and held Tennessee to 23 points in the first half. Bryce Brown clinched the tournament MVP trophy with another five three-pointers and 19 points overall. Chuma Okeke took that next step everyone had been expecting and also turned in a dominating game with five three-pointers as well and 18 points plus a big block and three steals. Danjel Purifoy also stepped up after a tough season with 10 points and two steals.
Auburn was the 2019 SEC tournament champions. Lets just stop right there and think about this team and the job these guys and Bruce Pearl have done. This was the worst program in the SEC (and I do mean worst) when Pearl and these guys came to Auburn and now in the past two seasons they have won an SEC regular season and tournament championship. I hate to keep saying it but it is simply unbelievable. I am just completely blown away and I have not even got to the NCAA run yet. This is more than I could ever hope for. Auburn is hanging banners instead of trying to make up accomplishments like they do on the football side for Gus. All I can say is thank you to these players, Coach Pearl and his staff. Oh yeah and all this happened after the top assistant coach and greatest player in Auburn history was indicted by the FBI.
This season really does get more amazing every time I think about it. OK, well now onto the NCAA tournament. As with just about every team not named Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, etc... I just hope to make the Sweet Sixteen. Of course after looking at Auburn's bracket I knew that was not going to happen. I mean COME ON, we won the SEC tournament and we are made a FIVE SEED and put in the same bracket with Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky (!!!???!!!). I was completely disgusted. I mean it was obvious the committee had a beef with Auburn and Bruce Pearl. I have not even mentioned having to play a really good New Mexico State team who had already WON 30 GAMES INCLUDING 19 IN A ROW (!!!). Yeh they are just a 12 seed, that makes total sense.
Getting lucky with seeding and who is in your bracket is literally the most important thing to making a big run in the NCAA tournament. Auburn was staring at a much-better-than-you-think New Mexico State team to start and a likely murder's row after that. It sure looked like it would be a monumental task to just get out of the first weekend... and it was. Auburn started slow against the Aggies but pulled out to a 28-19 lead with five minutes left in the first half. However New Mexico State quickly closed the gap to 32-29 at the half.
Auburn made another run to go up 45-33 early in the second half but New Mexico State would not go away. Auburn again pushed the lead to double digits with less than ten minutes to play, 59-48, and then again at seven minutes, 67-54, but again New Mexico State just kept coming back. They were a really good team and again it was completely ridiculous that they were a 12 seed. Auburn pushed the lead back to eight points with two minutes left in the game (!!!) but just could not put the Aggies away. It was absolutely gut wrenching to watch. I was having a complete come-apart as the lead shrunk to one point with under 30 seconds.
Auburn took a two point lead with six seconds to go but then fouled New Mexico State player Terrell Brown who was shooting a three-pointer to give him three free throws to take the lead with ONE SECOND left. I just put my head in my hands trying to figure out how so many leads could be blown and how much losing like this hurts. It is a fact though that whether you are Duke or Auburn you have to get a lucky break somewhere along the line to do well in the NCAA Tournament. This was Auburn's break as Brown missed two free throws. Nothing would come easy this day though as New Mexico State got the rebound and they missed a wide open three to win the game.
It was simply one of the most gut wrenching basketball games I have ever watched. I have to give kudos to the team for hanging in there but my gosh they seemed to make some poor choices with the lead. However it is survive and advance and Auburn had done that. Next up was the mighty Kansas Jayhawks, the #4 seed and one of the bluest of bloods in college basketball. Kansas' steak of winning or sharing fourteen Big 12 regular season championships in a row might have ended but they still finished 12-6 in conference and 26-9 overall. They were still a really good team and definitely one that Auburn usually does not have a chance against. I definitely was not real hopeful after New Mexico State.
I was completely wrong as this Auburn team came out like the one who had been there before. Auburn simply overwhelmed Kansas. The Tigers were up at halftime 51-25 (???!!!???). I mean WOW. I do not think any Auburn team up to this point had played this good in an NCAA tournament game. It was simply incredible to watch. Once again it was Bryce Brown coming up big with SEVEN THREE-POINTERS and 25 points overall. Jared Harper added 18 points and six assists along with Chuma Okeke and Anfernee McLemore putting up 12 and 11 points respectively. Okeke was really starting to come on. He played over 30 minutes like Brown and Harper and you could just see him blossoming before your eyes.
Kansas never really threatened in the second half and Auburn was now off to the Sweet Sixteen for only the fifth time in school history and waiting for them was an even bluer blood, the North Carolina Tar Heels. I have just been watching Auburn basketball for too long. I just could not get my head around Auburn beating North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament even after the win against Kansas. Auburn seemed to match up well against the Tar Heels but I just could not see it. This was North Carolina, the #1 seed in this region, who was 28-7 overall and 16-2 in the big bad ACC. They tied for the ACC regular title with Virginia and lost a one-point game to Duke in the ACC tournament semi-finals.
The kill stroke came after that run when Anfernee McLemore banked in a three-pointer to make it 76-57. The Auburn Tigers pretty much ran North Carolina off the floor in the second half hitting 12 of 18 three-pointers and ended up outscoring the Tar Heels 19-6 in points off turnovers and enjoyed a 15-6 advantage in fast-break points. Everyone contributed in this monumental win. Malik Dunbar put up maybe his greatest performance in an Auburn uniform hitting 3 three-pointers and 13 points overall. Purifoy finished with 12 points while J'von McCormick and Samir Doughty added 10 points a piece. McCormick came up huge running things while Jared Harper was in foul trouble early.
Jared Harper finished with only nine points but dished eleven assists while running mate Bryce Brown was solid as well with 12 points. Everyone also played great defense and rebounded almost even against the bigger Tar Heels. The true star in this one though was Chuma Okeke playing his greatest game and unfortunately his last game as an Auburn Tiger. Okeke scored 20 points and pulled down eleven rebounds along with playing great defense. He was flat out awesome. His play in the SEC and then the NCAA Tournament was among the greatest in Auburn basketball post season history. He played himself into being a first round NBA draft choice and helped put Auburn in the Elite Eight. The Auburn basketball Tigers beat #1 seed and basketball giant North Carolina 97-80.
Auburn, AUBURN scored 97 points on the #1 seeded North Carolina Tarheels in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Think about that!!! However even in the greatest season ever, there always has to be a dark cloud for Auburn basketball. Something always has to go wrong, it is like clockwork for this program. This time it was Chuma Okeke tearing his ACL during his greatest game as an Auburn Tiger again in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. It was a gut punch for every Auburn fan on this wild ride but especially for Chuma, his family, teammates and coaches.
It was just dawning on everyone that Auburn, yes Auburn, had a shot at a basketball national championship. I can honestly say I had never had that thought in my life. It was inconceivable. The thought was gone though as soon as it popped in everyone's head when Okeke went down. The dream of making it to Auburn's first Final Four also seemed to die with Okeke out and the biggest nemesis and blue blood of them all for every SEC team standing in the way. Auburn would play the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight. Auburn has only beat Kentucky once in any tournament and that was in 1987 in the SEC tournament. The Tigers are 1-13 against the Wildcats in tournament play.
Auburn's overall history with Kentucky in basketball has not been much better. It has been a few big wins mixed in with a LOT of losses. Auburn upset #6 Kentucky in 1958 after losing their first thirteen games against the Wildcats. Kentucky paid back Joel Eaves and Auburn the next year 75-56 with Auburn actually ranked #2 in the country and Kentucky #3. Auburn would win at home in 1960, 1965,1967 and 1968 before losing another twelve in a row (the teams started playing twice a year from 1965 through 1991). Auburn had their best three-year stretch against Kentucky winning at home in 1974 through 1976, twice in overtime.
The Tigers would then lose another thirteen in a row till Charles Barkley and company beat the Wildcats at home in 1982. Kentucky though quickly returned the favor beating Barkley and the Tigers in the SEC Tournament. Barkley and Chuck Person would lead Auburn to its first basketball win in the Bluegrass state in 1983 and then they beat the #2 Wildcats soundly in Auburn in 1984. Kentucky avenged that loss in 1984 by beating Auburn on their home floor and then barely beat Auburn, Barkley and Person 51-49 in the SEC Tournament championship game. I still remember watching the game at my grandmother's house. It is definitely one of the most gut wrenching losses in Auburn basketball history.
Auburn and Chuck Person in his senior year in 1986 would beat Kentucky in Auburn and then Chris Morris plus Jeff Moore, Mike Jones, Gerald White and Frank Ford would win Auburn's one-and-only tournament game against the Wildcats at the SEC tournament in 1987 (but then get blown out by Bama the next round). The greatest win ever over Kentucky before this season came in 1988 when John Caylor hit his one and only three-pointer of the game to beat the #1 Wildcats in Rupp Arena. Chris Morris played 40 minutes and had 18 points as well. I remember being a student at Auburn and watching that one with friends on TV and going crazy at the end.
The weirdest win in the series came the next season in 1989 when an Auburn team that went 2-16 in conference beat Kentucky on the plains. Auburn would win again at home against Kentucky in 1990 and first year coach Rick Pitino. That was the only big basketball game I missed in five years as a student at Auburn and it still makes me mad. The bottom truly fell out after that game as the Auburn basketball program plummeted and Kentucky WON 34 OUT OF THE NEXT 37 GAMES against Auburn. Read that again and let it sink in... 34 OUT OF 37 from 1990 through the end of the regular season in 2019.
That run included beating Auburn's previous best ever team in 1999 in the SEC tournament and beating this very 2019 team TWICE in the regular season WITH Chuma Okeke, 82-80 in Auburn and 80-53 at Kentucky. Auburn's only wins against Kentucky SINCE 1990 were in 2000 and recently when Bruce Pearl engineered two regular season upsets in 2016 and 2018. The point is clear though, Kentucky owns Auburn just like they own so many other teams. Overall Kentucky is 92-19 against Auburn. That long side trip brings us back to March 31, 2019 and the fifth seeded Tigers taking on the #2 seeded Kentucky Wildcats for a berth in the Final Four. This was arguably the biggest game in Auburn basketball history.
I think you know what I thought Auburn's chances were. I did not think we would win with Okeke much less without him. Auburn just never seems to match up with Kentucky even when the Tigers have good teams. Kentucky is always so big. They always have a big size advantage over Auburn. As always I asked "how in the heck can we beat these guys?". Auburn had two answers to that question, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown. In a nail-biting, stomach-churning and gut-wrenching slugfest of a game Auburn's dynamic duo scored 50 POINTS. Harper had 26 and Brown had 24. Brown scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, making all six attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers while Harper buried clutch free throw after clutch free throw.
Anfernee McLemore, Malik Dunbar, Horace Spencer, Austin Wiley, Danjel Purifoy, Samir Doughty and J'vonMcCormick also chipped in big defense, even bigger rebounds plus some big baskets. The biggest stat I think was rebounds, Auburn stayed right with the bigger Wildcasts only losing the rebound battle 41-37. That was huge. Harper and Brown were simply amazing though. These guys played their best game in the biggest game of their life under unbelievable pressure. I believe I was laying on the floor when it went to overtime. Kentucky had the size, experience and depth plus a history of success going for them. Auburn won the overtime 17-11 and the game 77-71. The Auburn Tigers beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight to go to the Final Four.
Auburn was going to the Final Four FINALLY. I still cannot believe it. They not only got to the Final Four but beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in a row to do it. No one has ever done that and I do not think anyone will ever do it. It is simply the greatest run of basketball in Auburn history. No one can under sell it, these teams were #4, #2 and #1 seeds. They were not down, Auburn and its tremendous players and coaches just beat them and did it after winning the SEC Tournament. I do not want to ever hear anyone ever say again that doing well in your conference tournament hurts your NCAA tournament chances.
I despise the ridiculous amount of timeouts and overcoaching that goes on in basketball. I have never seen all of the overcoaching work. Auburn should not have fouled Virginia with five seconds. They should have just defended and let the chips fall where they may. I would rather lose on a great shot than like Auburn did. Samir Doughty played a great game, he was Auburn's leading scorer, but he absolutely cannot touch the guy on that shot. They are going to call that every single time. He just cannot make that mistake. That is a really tough shot, challenge it but do not touch him. How many timeouts did we have to tell everyone that??? I am sorry but it was just all there for the taking.
That is why I am finally writing this post in August with football season starting next week. I have thought about this game almost every day since then. Every time I see something about football I think about this game. I do not think I will ever get over it. I know it is just a game and in the bigger scheme of things it does not matter but man it still hurts. I do not think I will ever see Auburn back in the Final Four. We had this one great run and came up just short. I need to concentrate on the former and let go of the latter. The 2018-19 Auburn basketball Tigers made the greatest run in the school's history. We were all very lucky to be able to watch and enjoy it.
Thanks to Bruce and the coaching staff and thank you to Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and the rest of this great team. I get a little choked up reading Brown's comments after this great run and tough end. "What hurts the most is that I won't be able to wear this jersey again," said Brown, who holds Auburn's career 3-point record with 382, second in SEC history. "Hopefully I had a huge impact on this program, because this program has definitely changed my life to the fullest, not only in basketball but also as a man, as an Auburn man. I've grown, I've matured, and I'm just happy that Auburn gave me the opportunity to wear this jersey and be a great player."
I can say that without a doubt that Brown did have a huge impact on this program and I think I will end this post with what Brown and Coach Pearl said last season. I think it is even more true now...
"The guys wanted to make history," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "Winning a championship at Auburn means a lot." "It's unreal. It's so unbelievable right now," said Bryce Brown, "I've got to thank the Lord for everything he's done for me. Knowing where we came from and where we are now, it just feels unreal. I'm so thankful, I'm so blessed." These guys did make history and everything they did means a whole lot. I think to end this post I will just echo what Bryce said, all of us who witnessed this season also are so thankful and so blessed...
WAR EAGLE.
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