Auburn-Alabama: Defense Spells Victory Over The Crimson Tide

It is often said that a best defense is a good offense.  Auburn has tried that method, only to succeed once in six tries.  On Saturday night, they decided to play it a little closer on defense against Alabama.

That strategy paid off.

Auburn used defense and half-court pressure to pull out the 58-57 victory over the Crimson Tide. 

Auburn only made three three-pointers, all made by Tay Waller.  Auburn scored 32 of the 58 points in the paint.

Also what benefited Auburn was free throws down the stretch.  DeWayne Reed and Lucas Hargrove each made a crucial free throw to tie and seal the lead for the Tigers. 

Now, looking at just the score, one would think that Auburn had an off night in shooting.  The truth is that the Tigers made better shot selections, as their 42.6 field goal percentage will show.

The Tigers also finally played a full 40 minute game since their victory over LSU. 

This all leads to just one point: Why haven't the Tigers played like this earlier?

Sure, big leads and lots of threes are sexy, but it has resulted in only one victory in six SEC games.  Auburn played defensive basketball tonight and came away with a win.

Granted Alabama is not the best shooting team in the conference, but it tells me that maybe Auburn has something the coaching staff may need to look into. 

There still are the problems of points off the bench, 22 for Alabama and only 6 for Auburn, but it does show that Auburn can play defense against a decent team like Alabama. 

By playing more defensively, it also gave the starters more of a chance to rest.  The starters, minus Johnnie Lett, are basically the main scorers for the Tigers.  With the bench on the court, the defense can have a chance to clamp down on the opposition.

Tonight, the Crimson Tide had several issues getting past the Tigers.

If Auburn wants more wins, then they have to play more defensive style basketball.  The bench is not helping the starters with points, so the team needs to integrate more of a defensive mindset. 

The margin for error is slim for the Tigers.  If Auburn has any hopes for post-season play, they will have to start playing more fundamentals and defense. 

There are only eleven more chances to get the Tigers to a NIT bid.