AUBURN – With 15 seconds left in overtime, Johni Broome buried a corner three to knot things up at 91 apiece, sending a sold out Neville Arena into a frenzy.
But with No. 7 Alabama controlling possession in the final seconds, Mark Sears delivered the dagger with a floater as the buzzer sounded, ending No. 1 Auburn’s dominant regular-season showing with a whimper.
“Obviously, those are two teams that are capable of getting the Final Four. Both teams stepped up in a lot of ways, and played great basketball,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl after the game.
The Crimson Tide entered the game as the best rebounding squad in the nation, and once again, Auburn struggled in that department, giving up 10 offensive boards and 18 second-chance points. In overtime, Alabama shot 5-for-11 but hauled in five offensive rebounds, converting them into six second-chance points.
“They got downhill. They got the offensive rebounding – very similar to what Texas A&M did, except, obviously, Alabama shoots it better. Turned some corners on us and got downhill. Come over, miss a shot, backside rebound, tip and dunk. So not putting bodies on those guys and giving those guys 18 second chance points is a lot,” Pearl said.
Entering the night with the third-best 2-point field goal percentage in the nation, shooting 59.8 percent from inside the arc, the Crimson Tide got downhill whenever they pleased which resulted in 56 points in the paint – the third most Auburn has given up in the paint this season.
“Our front line has to defend better. Our front line has to rebound better. Chaney, Dylan and Johni have to defend better against the teams we've been beaten by," he stated.
Grant Nelson led Alabama with 23 points and three 3-pointers, shooting 8-of-15 from the field. Nelson set the tone for the Crimson Tide with 15 first-half points. Entering the night averaging 28 points over the last five games, Sears went for just nine points as Alabama was held to seven threes on 22 attempts.
“Our goal was to run them off the 3-point line, make them take tougher twos. They're the best 3-point shooting team in the country, probably. Going into the game, it was making them score in the paint, making them go to the basket. Credit to them,” Broome said.
Broome recorded a career-high 34 points and eight rebounds after two subpar performances in his last two outings, returning to his national player of the year form.
“I thought Johni Broome demonstrated to the country why he's the National Player of the Year — or should be, in my opinion. As I explained to Johni after the game, that's what I expect from him. It was great to see him step up. Just need him to continue to step up, because it was great to see him be capable of that,” Pearl said.
The Tigers move their focus to the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville after ending the season with a sour taste in the mouth.
“We lost to our archrival, had a chance to sweep them,” Pearl said. “We didn't. It really truly is not about motivation. It's not.”
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