Takeaways from Auburn basketball’s 46-43 loss to Tennessee

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The Auburn Tigers got out to a hot start on the road against the Vols. Unfortunately, they then went 10 minutes without scoring and missed all but one of their last 19 first half shots. Auburn down one possession with the ball at the end had potentially the no call of the year at the buzzer.
The announcers agreed that it was an egregiously bad no call and that Wendell Green should have been given free throws to tie. It was a ridiculous final sequence to be sure.Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game.
SEC officiating is a mess
The term rock fight has been used to describe low scoring games, but this was more like a WWE cage match. The Vol players shoved Auburn all over the place with no fouls called with Green even getting struck in the face bleeding on the floor with no foul called.
The referees made a mess of this game. They didn’t call any fouls for the first five minutes. When this happens games tend to get out of control quickly, and it was a melee brawl out there. SEC officiating is frustrating, inconsistent, and ridiculous. On the final play of the game, Auburn put up a shot to tie the game.
Green was fouled in his upper body, he was fouled in his lower body, and he was not given room to land. A similar foul was called on KD Johnson when Tennessee's Santiago Vescovi nailed a three-pointer plus the foul.
Don Daily was the head official for today's game. Not blaming Daily for Auburn's lack of success in other areas - The Tigers could have won by making more shots - but the Tigers are 5-7 in their last 12 games he's officiated. The most recent game Daily oversaw was the Mississippi State game, which notably included another pathetic performance from the officiating crew.
There needs to be more accountability when egregious misses like today's happen.
Auburn doesn’t shoot well on the road
The Tigers are a defensive team this year. Shooting is not their strength, but they can really miss some shots on the road. Both teams shot the ball terribly, but Auburn edged to be worse starting 20% from the floor and 7% from three. Nike basketballs have been a common topic of conversation for the last year.
Auburn basketball recruiting is going really well
On a more positive note, this has been a great week for Auburn basketball despite the loss. The Tigers now have a top 5 recruiting class after getting commitments from Labaron Philon and Tahaad Pettiford this week.
Coach Pearl brilliantly let the two guards get to know each other during their recruitment. They became friends and decided to play together. Auburn is now in great shape for the next few years, and this recruiting class isn’t done yet.
Finally, here are some twitter reactions and highlights from tonight’s game:
14:24 1H | #Auburn 10, Tennessee 4
— Adam Cole (@colereporter) February 4, 2023
Tigers got out to an 8-0 lead, and they're relying on Johni Broome inside. He's 3-3 shooting with 6 points.
Vols are 2-11 shooting and 0-4 from 3.
Gettin' it done on both ends.
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 4, 2023
6 pts, 4 reb 1 blk in the first 8 minutes for @JohniBroome. 💪 pic.twitter.com/ZhQPGWE65q
Logo Wen!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zuCOUzlgwu
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 4, 2023
Logo Wen 🔥🔥🔥
— pablo escobarner (blue check) (@PabloEscoburner) February 4, 2023
He was immediately content with rocking him to sleep. lol
I made the mistake of looking at our box score… wouldn’t recommend 🤣
— Auburn Barstool (@WarDamnStool) February 4, 2023
just straight-up unbelievable: Auburn made one field goal between the 15:43 mark of the 1H and the 15:39 mark of the 2H
— Jerry Hinnen (@JerryHinnen) February 4, 2023
that's one field goal for literally half the game
and they're down 3 going to the line for 2
wat
this is absolutely ridiculous. haven’t seen a game officiated this one sided since we played in Tuscaloosa last year
— Drew Oldham (@orangeanddrew) February 4, 2023
100% a foul. I don’t understand why that situation shouldn’t be reviewable. #auburnbasketball
— Mike G. (@mikegittens) February 4, 2023
Just atrocious officiating. Both teams fought their ass off, but you have to make that call. It's clear as day the defender stepped underneath Wendell Green Jr. while he was in the air and gave him nowhere to come down. Foul all day.
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) February 4, 2023
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