After falling to Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, Auburn's Jaylin Williams emphasized that the team was focused on winning the remaining nine games on the schedule. At the time, Auburn was just two games removed from sitting in second place. Since then, the Tigers are 1-5, with the latest loss coming to Florida at home, 74-57.
Auburn played on its home court for the first time in 17 days. Playing without point guard Sharife Cooper seemed to put a nail in the Tigers' coffin before the game began. Without its floor general, Auburn suffered a dismal first half, scoring just 22 points to the Gators' 44.
Bruce Pearl singled out turnovers as a major reason for Auburn's inability to score points on the offensive end.
"We turned it over 14 times in the first half," he said. Auburn turns the ball over around 16.5 times per game, second-worst in all of the power conferences.
The Tigers fared better offensively in the second half, but any run they managed to pull together was never enough to overcome the deficit. After opening with a 3-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, Auburn trailed for the entire game and finished with its lowest scoring output of its SEC slate. Auburn is now 2-5 in home games this season against SEC competition.
"We're a guard short. I think that's our biggest issue," Bruce said of the offense's struggles. Without its top two guards in Cooper and Justin Powell, Auburn was forced to make its remaining players play a disproportionate number of minutes.
"Allen's gotta play 35 [minutes], Devan's gotta play 33, Jamal Johnson's gotta play 31." It's a recipe that hasn't helped Auburn this season, but there hasn't been much of a choice.
"The kids have been through a lot."
JT Thor and the Tigers know that the adversity they've faced this season will be to their benefit, though. When asked how this season will make the team better next season, Thor said he believed the Tigers would be "really good".
"To succeed, you've got to fail."
Auburn will have at least one more showing on the home floor, with a possibility for a make-up game vs Mississippi State that was originally scheduled for February 16th.
Auburn will close out the week at home versus Tennessee. Auburn has defeated the Vols in five straight games.
