The 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament tipped off on Wednesday, with the second game of the day featuring a Top 25 matchup between the Auburn Tigers and the Connecticut Huskies. It was a grueling back-and-forth battle, but after ten full minutes of extra basketball, the Tigers fell to the Huskies by a score of 115-109.
"You go to tournaments to play games like this," said head coach Bruce Pearl following the defeat. He praised No. 22 UConn's strength on the floor, a team who has returned to the Big East Conference for basketball. "They beat us the way they're going to beat a lot of teams: rebounding."
The Huskies grabbed 13 more rebounds than Auburn, with 13 of those coming off the offensive glass. And although UConn turned the ball over 24 times, they blocked eight of Auburn's shots and racked up 23 assists.
The Tigers fell behind in the first half, going into the break with an 11-point deficit brought on by streaky shooting and poor defensive play. The second half saw the Tigers storm back, clawing their way back within striking distance multiple times only to lose their momentum. Finally, a Jabari Smith three-pointer from the left wing gave the Tigers the lead, though a crucial missed rebound allowed Connecticut to send the game to extra time.
In the end, five players on each team scored in double figures. K.D. Johnson led the way for Auburn with a prolific performance, totaling 27 points. Time after time, Johnson put his head down and rushed to the basket to keep Auburn from falling behind. He earned 16 free throw attempts for his efforts, converting on 11 of them.
"I was just trying to do anything to get a W," he said.
Johnson led a three-headed attack from the Auburn backcourt. College of Charleston transfer Zep Jasper tallied nine points, while Wendell Green scored 19. Green hit four shots from three-point range, a team high.
"They're like three Tasmanian devils out there," Pearl said of their play. The trio of guards has combined to average 33.0 points per game in four games this season. All three players are transfers acquired in the offseason--Jasper from Charleston, Green from Eastern Kentucky, and Johnson from hated SEC rival Georgia.
In the end, though, it seemed like what finally put the Tigers down was the exertion. Playing two full overtimes is taxing, and it could have a ripple effect as Auburn prepares to play a total of three games in as many days. Tomorrow will match the Tigers up with the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago, a squad that made waves just a few short years ago with a Cinderella run to the Final Four, not to mention an upset of No.1 seed Illinois in last season's NCAA Tournament. Friday's game will be determined by tomorrow's results.
"Some of our guys played too many minutes," said Pearl, all too aware of the impact of playing significantly more minutes than expected, "We're at our best when we are deep."
There's a lot of season left for this star-studded squad. Although a Battle 4 Atlantis championship is now out of reach, conference play looms up ahead, and the SEC is arguably stronger than it's ever been at the sport. And, of course, the Tigers will be itching for a return to the NCAA Tournament after a magical Final Four run three seasons ago.
Auburn tips off against Loyola-Chicago tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. CT on Thanksgiving Day.
