One big issue Bruce Pearl identified after Auburn basketball's loss to Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — The sky isn't quite falling yet for Auburn basketball, but coach Bruce Pearl needs to make some adjustments.
The No. 20 Tigers (11-3, 1-1 SEC) lost 76-64 against Georgia (11-3, 1-0) at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday. There was more than enough blame to go around — Jaylin Williams shot 1-of-9, Wendell Green Jr. missed 10 of his 12 attempts from the floor and the freshman duo of Tre Donaldson and Yohan Traore scored just one point. But there's a glaring issue in each of Auburn's losses this season that can't be overlooked.
Senior guard Terry Roberts lit the Tigers up for 26 points Wednesday. In a loss against Memphis on Dec. 10, fifth-year guard Kendric Davis poured in 27. Facing USC on Dec. 18, senior guard Boogie Ellis exploded for 28 points.
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Notice a pattern?
The Tigers, despite having elite rim protection, have struggled to contain high-level guards.
"We do the best we can in ball-screen coverage to try to help the guards get through," Pearl said after the Georgia game. "Our guards have been having a hard time staying in front of people. You can go under and kind of build a wall a little bit, and maybe you do that against teams that really struggle to shoot the ball and let them shoot behind. That could be something we go to.
"It's not something that I've done before very often. But keeping guards in front of us has become an issue. And our bigs do a pretty good job of helping them. But getting the guards back in front and competing to stay in front is an issue."
Ellis came into the game against Auburn last month shooting 37.3% from beyond the 3-point arc. Davis entered the matchup with a 31.1% mark, and Roberts was a 30.6% shooter from long range ahead of Wednesday's game. Would the Tigers have been better off baiting these opposing guards to shoot from deep, rather than trying to stay in front of them and forfeiting driving lanes?
That's for Pearl to decide, but he has to do so quickly.
The level of competition with conference play now in full swing won't lighten up, in fact, it'll stiffen. Auburn beat Florida in its first game against an SEC foe this season before dropping the meeting with Georgia, but those two teams aren't exactly the toast of the conference. The Gators were picked to finish seventh by the preseason media poll, and the Bulldogs, even worse, were ranked second to last.
Auburn plays host to No. 13 Arkansas (11-2, 0-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network), and still has multiple games remaining against nationally-ranked teams like No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 21 Missouri and No. 25 Kentucky.
There are several other issues at hand, too. For the struggles the Tigers have had defending opposing guards, their offense is arguably an even bigger problem. Johni Broome played exceptionally against the Bulldogs, sans his four turnovers, dropping the third double-double of his young Auburn career with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
But there wasn't that second option for Auburn to go to when Broome was getting smothered inside. Allen Flanigan shot 5-of-10 and scored 11 points, but the Tigers need a consistent, and efficient, offensive threat to go along with their center. Maybe it'll prove to be Flanigan. Maybe it's Williams. Or perhaps most likely, it's Green.
Regardless, the time for that player to step up is now.
"We needed to win more one-on-one battles," Pearl said of the loss to the Bulldogs. "Jaylin Williams needed to win his matchup. We can't win if Jaylin Williams goes 1-for-9.
"We just can't."
Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: One big issue Pearl identified after Auburn basketball's loss to Georgia
