The second game of the SEC Tournament doubleheader on Wednesday night is between the Auburn Tigers and Missouri Tigers
Auburn (18-13, 7-11 in SEC) is young and talented, but they’re not playing their best basketball at the end of the season. They come into the tournament after losing five of their last seven games.
There’s reason for optimism for the future, because each of Auburn’s top four leading scorers are freshmen, including Mustapha Heron, who is ninth in the SEC with 15.2 points per game. And maybe the most important thing the Tigers have going for them is that you can never count out a Bruce Pearl-coached team.
Missouri (7-23, 2-16 in SEC) comes into this game with very little to be excited about. Just like the other Tigers in the first game of the night, LSU, Missouri is unsure about the future of their head coaching position. But the difference between Missouri and LSU is that Missouri knows it won’t be the guy who coached the team this year.
Earlier this week, Missouri announced that they were firing Kim Anderson, but he would be able to finish out the season.
The Tigers went 2-20 in the final 22 games of the season, including losses in each of the final six games.
Auburn Tigers: By the Numbers
Points/Game: 80.3 (34th in NCAA)
Opponents’ Points/Game: 79.4 (321st)
Field Goal Percentage: 43.7% (220th)
Opponents’ Field Goal Percentage: 43.7% (177th)
Key Players:
- Mustapha Heron, Fr. – 15.2 pts., 5.8 reb., 42 percent on 3FG
- Jared Harper, Fr. – 11.5 pts., 2.8 ast., 1.2 stl.
- Danjel Purifoy, Fr. – 11.4 pts., 4.8 reb., 1.4 stl.
Missouri Tigers: By the Numbers
Points/Game: 68.4 (284th in NCAA)
Opponents’ Points/Game: 72.1 (178th)
Field Goal Percentage: 39.1% (340th)
Opponents’ Field Goal Percentage: 42.8% (122nd)
Key Players:
- Terrence Phillips, So. – 10.5 pts., 4.4 ast., 3.8 reb., 1.4 stl.
- Jordan Barnett, Jr. – 12.1 pts., 5.8 reb.
- Kevin Puryear, So. – 11.0 pts., 6.0 reb.
Analysis
In this matchup of Tigers, Auburn has beaten Missouri twice already this season, including most recently on Saturday.
In the first game, Missouri led at halftime and the game was tied with just over two minutes remaining. But Auburn was able to pull out the 77-72 victory. Auburn’s bench scored 43 of the team’s 77 points in that game.
In the second game, Auburn took a double-digit lead into the half. Missouri got it as close as 7 points, before Auburn pulled away and won 89-78. Heron led the way with 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-for-3 on threes.
Auburn likes to get up and down. Their 80.3 points per game are 34th in the NCAA and third in the SEC. Missouri ranks no. 340 out of 347 teams shooting 39.1 percent from the field. If they’re not hitting shots in this game, it could get out of hand.
Prediction:
Auburn