Jan. 4, 2017
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
A different year and a different team -- and the same result for Auburn in Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Vanderbilt beat Auburn 80-61 in Nashville after racing out to a 21-2 lead behind the shooting of Matthew Fisher-Davis, who scored 19 of the Commodores' first 24 points.
He set the tone and won the night, finishing with seven 3-pointers and 33 points.
It was Vanderbilt's 10th straight win over the Tigers in the old arena, where Auburn hasn't won since 2000, and the 13th straight victory over Auburn overall.
"Vanderbilt played great. They had their way with us," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "I'm very disappointed in our defensive effort. We got the ball to the rim a lot but couldn't score.
"It was very difficult at the beginning when they jumped on us and took it away quickly."
Auburn, starting four freshmen for the fourth straight game, fell to 10-4 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. Vanderbilt improved to 8-6 overall and 2-0 in the league.
Auburn started poorly. The Tigers trailed 21-2 before waking up and playing the Commodores on even terms the final 13 minutes of the first half. But that only meant the Tigers trailed 46-29 at halftime. Auburn held its own in the second half as well, but could not make a run at the Commodores.
Jared Harper scored 14 in the second half and finish with 19 points to lead Auburn. Mustapha Heron scored 13. That wasn't enough to offset Vandy, which hit 14 3-pointers, and Fisher-Davis' big night.
"He is a terrific shooter and does a great job of getting open," Pearl said. "He got a lot in transition too because we weren't executing and turning the ball over."
Auburn will try to rebound against Ole Miss at 5 p.m. Saturday in Auburn Arena.
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine