The Auburn Tigers have landed a place in the Final Four after defeating three of the nation’s most prestigious programs, and now face a fourth tough contest against Virginia.
Auburn is in their first Final Four in program history and coach Bruce Pearl is in his first one too, although it’s a bittersweet moment after the injury to Chuma Okeke.
Ranked among the best in several defensive categories, excluding one particularly ugly ranking that we will get into further down in the article, this team plays some of the toughest defense in the country. They also are one of the best shooting teams in the country in terms of three-point shots.
They’ve used abilities like these to power through three of the country’s most winningest programs in NCAA history on their way to the Final Four, culminating in a win against North Carolina. They’ll have to go through yet another tough team as they come up against a Virginia Cavaliers team that will be looking to get back to national success, just a year after their historic NCAA Tournament loss.
Let’s break down Bruce Pearl’s Tigers basketball team.
Player to watch
The Tigers shocked one of the country’s best programs in the Kentucky Wildcats when they won in overtime on Sunday, despite losing Okeke to torn ACL in the Sweet 16. Nonetheless, Auburn has found a place in the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four for the first time in program history.
This Auburn team is very well-rounded, but the designated player to watch comes in the form of Bryce Brown, who is averaging 15.8 points per game, and has made 137 three-point shots on the year, for an Auburn offense that ranks No. 8 in the nation.
Brown is a dead-eye shooter from behind the arc, and on an Auburn team that seems to live and die by the three (a trait which helped them topple North Carolina, and then bury Kentucky in the Elite Eight) that ability to shoot makes all the difference.
Honorable mention here is lead guard Jared Harper, who averages almost six assists per game, and uses speed and driving ability to open things up for shooters like Brown.
Strengths
Head Coach Bruce Pearl is a true-to-form tempo guy. As mentioned above, Auburn relies on the three to make its potent offense run and has some of the best shooters in the tournament on the roster. Harper’s pace and ball-handling ability, paired with his eye for passing lanes, helps this offense run.
Their biggest strength arises largely from the ability of this offense to hit the three and beat teams with fast basketball utilizing a tone-setting attitude to force opposing defenses into uncomfortable situations. Their strength comes from Harper having the ball in his hands, and utilizing pick-and-roll plays to cover up for a lack of true stand-out offensive weapons.
The Auburn Tigers rank fourth nationally in scoring, and top 25 in 3-point percentage and their biggest strength comes in their ability to dictate games with their offensive abilities and tone. They’ll look to run fast and hard against a tough Virginia defense. Defensively, their individual efforts have held some of the nation’s best teams to low point totals, including a 71-point defensive outing in a game that went to overtime against Kentucky.
Weaknesses
Auburn’s biggest weakness is their aforementioned lack of all-around offensive talents. If a defense can force the ball out of the hands of Harper, as mentioned above, this Auburn offense could stagger and fail to run teams as hard as they are accustomed to. The defense has improved a lot over the course of this tournament, but it may not be enough to make up for it if their offense is contained.
Harper’s creativity in these pick-and-roll situations creates clean looks for players like Brown (who is individually shooting over 40% from three) and can serve as a motor for the Tigers offense. If a team can contain Harper and Brown, and force someone else to beat them on the inside, it could serve as the Kryptonite to this SEC team’s abilities.
Virginia should look to minimize the Tigers’ ability to run in transition and to force players besides Harper and Brown to beat you offensively.
Key to victory against Virginia
The offense has got to roll, roll, roll.
The Auburn Tigers have made huge strides defensively throughout the course of this tournament, and even further back, reaching back to the SEC Tournament. They’ve got to continue this improvement, but even more importantly, they’ll have to be able to manufacture enough offense to contend with an incredibly talented Virginia Cavaliers squad.
Their offense has already topped the likes of Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky, and will look to make an even more impressive statement in their matchup against Virginia. Bruce Pearl will look to this as his shining moment in his fifth season at Auburn, the most successful in program history.
If the triple is falling for this Auburn Tigers’ offense, and they can set the tone defensively and utilize key players like Brown and Harper, they’ve got a fighting chance to improve on an already incredibly impressive season. Get that offense firing on full blast, and their chances at reaching the National Championship game multiply.