Auburn certainly didn't win any style points on the hardwood on Monday night, but the Tigers held on to narrowly escape Bethune-Cookman in overtime in their season opener at Neville Arena by way of a 95-90 victory.
The Tigers have won 13 of their last 14 season openers, with head coach Steven Pearl joining the list of Joel Eaves, Bill Lynn, Sonny Smith, Cliff Ellis, Jeff Lebo and Bruce Pearl as head coaches to win in their Auburn debuts.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Unnecessary foul sends it to overtime, but Auburn overcomes
It seemed like the Tigers would narrowly escape with an 81-78 win in regulation.
But what would an Auburn sporting event be without a little chaos?
With under .5 seconds left to play, Bethune-Cookman's Arterio Morris threw up a half-court heave, but was fouled – unnecessarily – by Auburn’s Eliyjah Freeman and sank three free throws to tie it at 81 apiece and send it to overtime.
Auburn outscored the Wildcats 14-9 in overtime and knocked down four of its seven field goal attempts.
Woeful free-throw shooting
Simply put, Auburn’s woeful shooting from the charity stripe nearly cost it a season-opening win.
The Tigers shot a putrid 44% from the free-throw line in the first half, and had they knocked down some of those attempts, they most likely would have held on to a sizable lead to close things out.
But, they answered the bell in the second half, sinking 14 of their 16 attempts. Keyshawn Hall made nine of them.
Soft interior defense
Auburn has been an elite shot-blocking team for the last four seasons, with Walker Kessler, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell imposing their will near the rim. The Tigers were the third-best shot-blocking unit in the nation last season with 5.9 per game.
But Auburn struggled to defend the painted area against the Wildcats on Monday night
Much like the Tigers’ first exhibition game against Oklahoma State, where they gave up 49% of its points in the paint, Auburn surrendered 44 points down low to the Wildcats with just four blocks – Bethune-Cookman recorded eight with their tallest player on the night listed at just 6-foot-8.
The Tigers, with 12 newcomers on the roster, are going to look different in the frontcourt this season. But even Auburn’s guards defended poorly and allowed too many Wildcats to blow past them with no one down low to clean up their miscues.
Hall shows up big
Though it didn’t count, Auburn went to overtime against Oklahoma State, and it was partly due to Hall’s play down the stretch, scoring the last 12 points in regulation.
On Monday against the Wildcats, Hall poured in 24 second-half and overtime points to lead all scorers with 28 points on the night.
Hall knocked down five free throws in overtime. He was 16-of-18 from the charity stripe on the night, as he’s just one season removed from shooting 81.6% from the free-throw line at UCF, where he set the single-season record with 199 free throws made.
Kevin Overton and KeShawn Murphy chip in
Murphy, who suffered a mild MCL sprain in the Tigers' first exhibition game against Oklahoma State, was a force to be reckoned with down low, pouring in 17 points and hauling in eight rebounds.
Overton, though he didn't light up the stat sheet, made crucial plays down the stretch for the Tigers and was another reason why they didn't suffer a loss in regulation. Overton knocked home a fadeaway jumper in the final minutes to give Auburn a lead, right after a pair of big defensive plays. He tallied three steals in the second half and one more in overtime.
The Tigers will return to action on Thursday against Merrimack at Neville Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on SECN+.
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