ATLANTA - Despite basically having a home crowd, Auburn was not able to do much of anything against another pack of Tigers.
The No. 11 Auburn Tigers (8-1) fell to the Memphis Tigers (7-2) 82-73 for their first loss of the 2022-23 season. Despite the result, some things went well for Auburn. On the same token, a lot of things did not go well for Auburn. Here's a look at which things were which.
Bench production: D
Auburn's bench outscored Memphis' bench 26-19. However, K.D. Johnson was the only player off the bench to score in double figures with 14 points. Dylan Cardwell scored seven, Allen Flanigan scored five, and Chance Westry and Yohan Traore. This performance left a lot to be desired as depth has been one of Auburn's biggest strengths so far this season.
Rebounding: C
Memphis dominated Auburn on the glass, out-rebounding them 43-32. Auburn held Memphis to 11 second-chance points to their nine, which is why a C is a fair assessment. Johni Broome led Auburn in rebounds with six, while DeAndre Williams led Memphis with 11.
Turnovers: B
This was Auburn's most successful aspect of the game, only turning the ball over 15 times to Memphis' 19. Memphis capitalized on Auburn's turnovers more effectively, however, having 19 points off turnovers to Auburn's 11.
Transition: C
Auburn had 18 fast-break points and Memphis had 19. Auburn could have limited this number if transition defense had been more of a focus.
Free-throws: B
Auburn went 19-24 from the line or 79.2 percent. Memphis went 18-25 or 72 percent. Converting on those five misses would not have been a game-changer for Auburn, but they would like nice on a stat sheet which is why the performance does not get an A.
Three-point shooting: D-
Auburn shot 6-24 or 25 percent from three-point range. The other set of Tigers shot 4-11 or 36.4 percent. K.D. Johnson and Wendell Green JR did not do Auburn much good from beyond the arch as they went for a combined 1-11. Chris Moore went 2-2 which was far and away Auburn's best performance, as no one else made a second three-pointer. Kendric Davis led this category for Memphis going 2-6, but no one else had an outstanding performance.
Total shooting: F
Shooting 24-63 or 38.1 is less than ideal, particularly when your opponent is able to shoot 30-60 or 50 percent. Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell were the only Auburn Tigers to make more than half of their shots, going 5-9 and 3-3 respectively. Chris Moore and Zep Jasper both converted on half of their field goals, going 3-6 and 2-4 respectively. DeAndre Williams and Keonte Kennedy led Memphis, shooting 7-13 and 4-4 respectively.
Auburn did not control much of this game at all. The Tigers will have a chance to redeem themselves on Wednesday night when the Georgia State Panthers make their way to Neville Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. C.T.
