Auburn Basketball: Keys to avoiding the upset to College of Charleston

Deny Grant Riller the Ball

The Cougars have three really good players in senior Joe Chealey, junior Jarrell Brantley, and sophomore Grant Riller. Believe it or not, Riller is easily the most valuable of all the Cougar players. The 6-foot-3 Riller averages nearly 19 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from three. Those are video game like percentages, especially for a guard who shoots the ball almost 13 times per game. My guess is either Bryce Brown or Desean Murray will be tasked with guarding Riller. I am more inclined to believe that it will be Murray as I think Bruce Pearl needs to dedicate one player to focus solely on guarding Riller. Brown is too valuable offensively so you would hate to see him wear out on defense.

Either way, the primary focus defensively is defending Riller. Yes, Chealey and Brantley can both score, but it all starts with Riller. He is not a volume passer and is not accustomed to playing the distributor role. If he is forced into that, that takes a huge weapon away from College of Charleston. What would be ideal is if he is fully denied the basketball the entire game. Can’t hurt you if he can’t get the ball, right?