Auburn Basketball: How Tigers reached the 2019 Final Four

By Dakota Cox | Apr 2, 2019

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: Bryce Brown #2 of the Auburn Tigers and head coach Bruce Pearl celebrate after the 84-64 win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 23: Jared Harper #1 of the Auburn Tigers reacts to a play against the Kansas Jayhawks during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

How Auburn performed during the season

Early on in the SEC schedule, many would say that Auburn was very underwhelming. It’s hard for any team to live up to those lofty goals set by the critics, but the Tigers struggled more than most. It was masked in the SEC thanks to Kentucky’s similar struggles and Tennessee’s early success, but Auburn simply wasn’t getting it done.

Before that, Auburn was checking every box. Their only non-conference losses were to Duke and NC State, and both games were kept to single digits. They had a few struggle wins against UAB and Murray State, but wins are all that matter in college basketball. The Murray State struggle win was given more respect after the explosion of Ja Morant later in the year.

In the SEC, it just seemed that Auburn couldn’t win the big games. Until their last game of the regular season, Auburn had no wins against Kentucky, Tennessee, or LSU. They also only had one win in their series against South Carolina. They had no problems against the Alabamas, Missouris, and the Vanderbilts of the conference, but they couldn’t get it done against the top-tier of SEC talent. Obviously, they solved this problem to reach the Final Four.

Despite their struggles, Auburn’s defense and transition skills were still top of the conference. The shooting just didn’t always work. Their consistency issues were why they managed to score over 100 against South Alabama, but only scored 55 against Ole Miss and 53 against Kentucky.

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