Feb. 9, 2018
#8 Auburn at Georgia
(2017-18 RECORD: 21-3, 9-2 SEC) vs. (2017-18 RECORD: 13-10, 4-7 SEC)
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| Sat, Feb 10 | 2:30 p.m. |
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" It's been less than a month since Auburn stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Georgia, 79-65. At the time, the Tigers were coming off a loss to Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" their first loss since November and the first in league play ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" and that win over Georgia became the first of five consecutive SEC wins.
"This team has got character," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. "You can't sit back and wait for teams to fail. You have got to force the issue. You have to make plays offensively and defensively, and that's what this team is doing."
However, that streak of five straight wins came to an end Wednesday with a gut-wrenching 81-80 loss at home to Texas A&M. Auburn will look to right the ship, and just like it was a month ago, the team standing in its way is none other than the Georgia Bulldogs.
The only difference the second time around is that this game is on the road, and the Tigers might be without their leading scorer, Bryce Brown, who left Wednesday's game with a shoulder injury and remains questionable to play Saturday. The junior guard, who is averaging 16.6 points per game, did not practice Thursday, but he did travel with the team to Athens.
Pearl and his staff have a plan in place in case they are without Brown.
"We have eight scholarship guys now if he doesn't play," the Auburn coach said. "We'll just play Mustapha (Heron) more, Davion (Mitchell) plays more, Malik (Harper) plays more, and Jared (Harper) plays more. We have four guards that are still in a position to be able to play. They've just all got to share the load, and that's what we would do."
Heron scored 28 points against Texas A&M, including 15 in the second half with Brown on the bench. He's second on the team averaging 16.2 points per game.
Saturday's game is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m. CT from Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. Rod Bramblett and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will also be televised on SEC Network with Mike Morgan and Dane Bradshaw on the call.
Player to watch: Anfernee McLemore
Sophomore Anfernee McLemore has seen major improvement in his second season with the Tigers. He's increased his points, rebounds, blocks and steals per game, while also seeing a jump in free-throw percentage. The Warwick, Ga., native finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in Auburn's 79-65 victory over Georgia earlier this season.
Inside the series: Georgia
Auburn trails 94-92 all-time against Georgia in the most-played series in Auburn history. The Tigers won the previous battle this season, 79-65, behind a 53-point second half that helped overcome a 14-point deficit at halftime. Four players reached double figures in that game, led by Georgia natives Bryce Brown (28), Jared Harper (13) and Anfernee McLemore (10).
Auburn has dropped four of the last five to the Bulldogs in Athens with the latest win coming in 2015 (69-68).
Road warriors
Auburn has the SEC's best road record in conference play at 4-1 and is one of only three teams, along with Florida and Tennessee, who has a winning road record in league play. The Tigers' four road SEC wins are their most since winning four during the 2008-09 season and just the second time they've won that many since going 6-2 on the road in SEC play in 1998-99.
The most road SEC wins Auburn has amassed in one season is six, and that's happened four times (1998-99, 1969-70, 1959-60, 1949-50).
True balance
Through 24 games this season, Auburn has had five or more players score in double figures in the same game 11 times. By comparison, the Tigers accomplished that feat just six times a year ago. All nine players in the rotation have eclipsed the 10-plus point plateau multiple times this season with Harper reaching double figures in a team-high 20 games.
Take a timeout
Click here to vote for Bruce Pearl and Children's Harbor in the Coaches Charity Challenge. The coach with the most votes after four rounds wins $100,000 for their charity. Each charity will receive money for every round their representative coach is voted through.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf