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Takeaways: No. 15 Auburn's strong second half rally, falls short at West Virginia

On3 imageby:Ellie Oldham•01/28/23•

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Johni Broome (Photo by Auburn Athletics)

After losing a five-game win streak on Wednesday, No. 15 Auburn traveled to West Virginia to compete in their SEC/Big 12 challenge for the Tigers’ toughest road matchup of the year so far.

The Mountaineers were the first to score today and controlled the momentum for the first half. The Tigers headed into the locker room down by 16, but came out strong and cut the deficit to single digits with a 12-5 run.

With over seven minutes left in the game, Auburn scored more points than they did in the entire first half. The Tigers were able to cut the deficit to just one possession multiple times, but could never gain the lead.

The Final Score: Auburn 77, West Virginia 80

Auburn falls to 16-5 while West Virginia advances to 13-8.

“I’m proud of the kids for playing hard in the tough environment… Guys are really rooting hard for each other and in some ways, we made progress,” Head coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. “We’ve won our last three road games. That one right there was a chance to be four in a row.”

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index ranks the Tigers’ remaining strength of schedule the fourth-toughest in the nation. Auburn is back at home against Georgia for their mid-week matchup before traveling to No. 4 Tennessee next Saturday.

RELATED: Projecting the Tigers’ remaining schedule

Here’s takeaways from Auburn’s tough road trip against West Virginia.

— This season, Auburn’s guards have needed to limit turnovers while controlling their opponent’s guard play. Erik Stevenson, who ultimately chose West Virginia over Auburn in the portal, had 18 points in the first half alone. Auburn guards Wendell Green Jr. (4), K.D. Johnson (2) and Allen Flanigan (1) had a combined seven turnovers in just the first half.

— Stevenson finished with 31 points, leading the Mountaineers by a long shot. Jaylin Williams led the Tigers with 18 points.

— In the first few minutes, Auburn had a solid bench rotation going. Lior Berman and Dylan Cardwell contributed half of the Tigers’ first 10 points. Berman was the only player for the Tigers that made a three-point attempt in the first 15 minutes of the game. Auburn finished with 22 bench points.

“… Lior Berman did a really nice job off the bench,” Pearl said. “Dylan, I thought, had a good run. We got a little bit more help from our bench tonight, which was good.”

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— Johni Broome had zero points in his nine minutes played in the first half and got into early foul trouble. He ended with 15 points, though, five being big points in Auburn’s 7-0 run that brought it to a one possession game.

“… He’s done really well, he’s been one of our most consistent players… Johni is a really good basketball player,” Pearl said.

— This season, Auburn has struggled with limiting turnovers. Over the past few games, they have been better, but tonight the Tigers had 13 turnovers that the Mountaineers gained 17 points from. The second half was a much better performance, with just four team turnovers from Auburn.

— K.D. Johnson has been struggling on the court recently, but his second half performance was more than promising. He finished with 10 points, nine of which came at important points in the second half.

“I’m pleased that KD played better,” Pearl said. “He’s been patient, trying not to turnover, trying not to do too much. He did get into the gym a little extra this week and work on a few things. It’s great to have that impact.”

— In the first half alone, the Mountaineers made 12 free throws on 13 attempts, more than the Tigers’ 11 field goals on 27 attempts. Berman and Green Jr. are the only two that made shots from beyond the arc and Green made just one of his three attempts.

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