March 17, 2018
#4 Auburn vs. #5 Clemson
(2017-18 RECORD: 26-7, 13-5 SEC) vs. (2017-18 RECORD: 24-9, 11-7 ACC)
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| Sun, March 18 | 6:10 p.m. |
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
SAN DIEGO ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Prior to Friday, Auburn had not won a game this season when it scored less than 70 points. That changed, though, as the Tigers scored 62 points and still found a way to knock off College of Charleston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Credit the defensive effort, but this is an Auburn team that entered the Big Dance averaging 83.4 points per game ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" tops in the SEC. That first-round performance was uncharacteristic for the Tigers, but now that it's behind them, they believe they will be more comfortable when they take the floor against Clemson on Sunday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
"It was a game to get us warmed up," Auburn forward Desean Murray said. "A game to find out what we need to work on and a game to find out what we have to do better. It's always good to get that game out of the way ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" your body's warm, you get used to the court ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" so the next game hopefully we feel more comfortable and knock some more shots down."
"That was first-game jitters," added guard Bryce Brown. "I feel like we've got all that out the way. I expect more shots to fall. I feel like we're ready to go on a little run."
Those pre-game jitters also might have been part of the reason for Auburn's struggles for the free-throw line Friday as the Tigers, who came in shooting 78.6 percent of their free shows, made just 15 of their 32 attempts from the charity stripe against Charleston.
Regardless of the reason for Auburn's shooting woes in the first round, head coach Bruce Pearl knows this team has to shoot better Sunday. He also knows they're capable.
"I think we will shoot better from the perimeter," Pearl said. "We have no choice. We've got to be able to knock down shots and we have to get better looks and believe it or not, we have to be more patient and not shoot the first one that's open."
The second-round matchup with Clemson is scheduled to tip off Sunday at 6:10 p.m. CT from Viejas Arena in San Diego. Rod Bramblett and Joe Ciampi will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. It will also be televised on TBS with Carter Blackburn, Debbie Antonelli and John Schriffen on the call.
Player to watch: Mustapha Heron
Mustapha Heron has elevated his play down the stretch this season. In his last nine games, the sophomore has averaged 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Heron has also shot 41 percent from the floor and has reached double figures in all nine tilts. The Waterbury, Conn. native has eclipsed the 20-point plateau in four of those games.
Inside the opponent: Clemson
Auburn has faced Clemson 27 times in series history and holds a 15-12 edge in the series. The Tigers are 4-3 against Clemson in neutral site games all-time.
California kings
Following Friday's win over College of Charleston, Auburn is now 3-0 in NCAA Tournament games all-time in state the California. Playing in Long Beach, Calif., in 1986, the eight-seeded Tigers defeated Arizona in the first round before knocking off No. 1 seed St. John's in the second round on their way to the only Elite Eight appearance in program history.
Scrappy defense
Auburn forced College of Charleston into 21 turnovers Friday. It is the second-most turnovers the Tigers have ever forced in an NCAA Tournament game and the most since forcing 25 against Winthrop in the first round in 1999. It's the fifth time this team has forced 20-plus turnovers in a game this season, and they've now forced 267 turnovers in their last 15 games.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Auburn was tied for the SEC lead with 15.4 turnovers forced per game and tied for second in the conference with a plus-3.2 turnover margin.
Closing in on history
After knocking down three 3-pointers Friday, Brown (104) is now just four makes from tying Lance Weems' single-season record for 3-point shots made (108) and five from passing him. Brown can also move past Weems into second on Auburn's all-time 3-point shots made list with three more makes Sunday. The junior guard has knocked down 238 3s in his career.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf