But this game was one of the most egregious destructions of an opponent – a higher seeded opponent, mind – in this year’s Big Dance, and it came at the hands of a team perhaps many are overlooking heading into the tournament’s second weekend. The final minutes weren’t rife with tension.
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One very predictable element of this game is that it is more than likely going to be a defensive struggle.
The victor of the Clemson vs Auburn game will face No. 1 Kansas in the Sweet 16 Round on March 22-23.
The past offseason was crucial to a championship run, and Auburn needs to do the exact same thing in 2018.
The SEC’s Tigers weren’t supposed to be in this position in the first place. Person was accused of accepting bribes to steer players to a financial adviser once they turned pro and funneling money to the families of Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy. They were supposed to finish ninth in the SEC.
College of Charleston: Champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, the Cougars were making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 1999.
The 19th-ranked Auburn basketball team played outstanding defense and knocked down timely shots down the stretch to defeat College of Charleston, 62-58, in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional at Viejas Arena Friday. “I feel good about the foundation of our program”.
“I want people to remember us as a hard-fighting team that never really gave up”, Spencer said.
It missed 18 straight shots from the 10:33 mark of the first half to the 19:16 mark of the second half and didn’t make more than two straight shots at any point during the game.
Auburn and Clemson were chic picks to be upset in the first round, but only Auburn had much trouble. Harper hit one foul shot with three seconds for the final difference.
Brown drained a 3-pointer 42 seconds into the second half to halt Auburn’s ugly shooting stretch.
Auburn will face Clemson on Sunday at 6:10 p.m.
Chuma Okeke made two free throws for Auburn, but the Tigers still couldn’t hit a field goal. We’ve come back from deficits like that.
Mustapha Heron led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting. It’s the seventh time in the last nine games that the team has shot worse than 40 percent. “The easy looks don’t go in all the time”.
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The Auburn Tigers have not been without their share of controversy this season behind embattled head coach Bruce Pearl. This is still a team that has eight players that are all capable of playing well. “It was tough to get to our spots”, Harper said. “These guys have really done an unbelievable job all year of buying into what we’re trying to do”.
