Feb. 25, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" All season, this Auburn team has played well on the road. They have done well forcing turnovers and not turning the ball over themselves. The backcourt duo of Jared Harper and Bryce Brown have played so well that both players have been mentioned as candidates for SEC Player of the Year in recent weeks.
On Saturday, as a team, the Tigers just didn't have it.
"We are still in first place," Pearl told his guys after the game. "We didn't act like it tonight."
To Auburn's credit, the players did rally back from a 9-point halftime deficit and even took the lead at one point with four minutes left. But the struggles early ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" turning the ball over 13 times in the first half ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" proved too much to overcome on the road at Florida.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game in Gainesville.
1. Mustapha is back
It was evident early on that Mustapha Heron was feeling like himself again at Florida. The sophomore guard missed the previous game with a stomach virus, but he was attacking early and often Saturday and picked up the slack when shots weren't dropping for Harper and Brown.
"I was just staying aggressive, allowing my teammates to get me the ball," Heron said after the game. "I was able to get two days of good sweat, so I feel a lot better."
Heron led Auburn with 22 points, but he rarely forced the action. He was an efficient 8 of 11 from the field and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. He also made both of his free-throw attempts and pulled down six rebounds. It was his seventh 20-point game of the season and the 13th of his career.
Heron, who now leads the team with 16.3 points per game, is averaging 19.5 points per game over his last eight games.
2. Playing without McLemore
There was obvious concern when Anfernee McLemore suffered a season-ending injury at South Carolina, but the interior play hasn't been the problem for Auburn thanks to significant contributions from Horace Spencer, Chuma Okeke and Desean Murray.
"We definitely miss Anfernee." Pearl said. "But we're getting more Horace Spencer, more Chuma Okeke, more Desean Murray in his position, and those guys are all good players."
On Saturday, Spencer got the start at center and finished with six points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes. Okeke came off the bench and recorded his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman is now averaging 13 points and 9.7 rebounds in the three games since McLemore's injury. And Murray chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
As a team, the undersized Tigers outrebounded Florida, 41-31, and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds. They also outscored the Gators in the paint, 32-20.
"Our coaches' job is to put the players in a position to be successful, and that's what we've managed to do," Pearl said. "We've brought great energy every night, and our kids battle all the time. We've got a great locker room. You can see the difference. We're not the most talented team in this league, but we've brought it every night. And we've found ways to scrap and win and do different things.
"But we're talented enough. And I think to survive this season this year in this league ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" you look at some of the teams that are in the lower half of our league, it's incredible how good they are."
3. Next chance to clinch
The bad news? Auburn missed an opportunity Saturday. The good news? The Tigers still hold a one-game lead over Tennessee in the SEC standings, and they still have two more opportunities to clinch a share of the regular-season conference title, beginning Tuesday at Arkansas.
"We have to go back and look at the film, get better and get ready for Tuesday," Heron said. "It's a short turnaround, so (we have to) get ready for Tuesday."
Everything is still there for the taking. The Tigers can still clinch the SEC regular season with a win or a Tennessee loss this coming week. They're still projected as a two seed by most experts, including Jerry Palm of CBS. They haven't lost much this season, but as losses go, Saturday's loss didn't hurt all that much. The key will be to move on.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf