Takeaways from Auburn basketball's 67-59 win vs South Florida

The Tigers achieved a gritty non conference win Friday night against a tough opponent in the South Florida Bulls. Coach Bruce Pearl mentioned going into the game that the Bulls would be a tough defensive matchup for his team as they were last year. He seemed to know that any win might be ugly similar to last years game and that was exactly the case tonight. Auburn had a rough night on offense, but Wendell Green Jr. after having a difficult first half, took over the game and led the Tigers to a victory. Here are a few takeaways from the game.

Auburn had a really bad first half

Auburn had a rough start to this game shooting just 27% from the field in the first half. There's nothing else to say, the first half performance was just sloppy. The Tigers shot 2-15 from the 3 point line. They were also out rebounded by a decent margin. Not much went well for the first twenty minutes.

The small forward position was a strength?

Last year the consensus weakness of the team was the small forward position. Tonight it was the team's biggest strength. Chris Moore has gone from not playing much at all a year ago, to being one of the more hard working and efficient players on the team so far. Allen Flanigan might be back. He was potentially Auburn's best player tonight. Wow has his last few years been a roller coaster ride, but maybe he is just finally healthy. Whatever the case is, Flanagan is balling. He carried Auburn's offense for much of the night.

There are teams Auburn does not matchup well with

Down the stretch last year, Auburn was exposed by a few teams that acted as the Tigers kryptonite. Big guards were tough to play against. There were a few team builds that seemed to shut down the Tigers action on offense including the pick and roll. South Florida gave Auburn a tough time last year as they 'packed in' their defense and let the Tigers shoot. They defended Auburn well again this year, and contributed to the discombobulation on offense. Until Auburn grows in their offensive chemistry and ability, there may be certain teams and play styles that really give them fits.

Home court advantage is huge and the team responded well at halftime

The Tigers came out and turned it around after half time. Though the game was sloppy, there is no quit in this team. They play hard. They play with passion, and the home crowd really helps. No matter how bad a game may be going, it just felt like a matter of time until the crowd and the team got in a frenzy and took the game over. It will be tough for any team to win a close game in Neville Arena this year.

Finally, here are some highlights and twitter reactions from tonights game.

The way we’re shooting, I’m wondering if the celebrity letter holder is gonna be Tony Barbee
— College Equestrian Expert Auburn Elvis (@AuburnElvis) November 12, 2022

pic.twitter.com/CXLwlaeR65
— Jay Phillips (@aubawn) November 12, 2022

Splash 💦 pic.twitter.com/pzJrXXGeCH
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 12, 2022

Auburn has cut the deficit to one again!

36-37 USF leads, 13:16 2H

Follow along for LIVE updates: https://t.co/QNX2rSsPSs
— Auburn Daily (@TheAuburnDaily) November 12, 2022