Auburn achieved victory in 16 out of 17 matches before facing consecutive setbacks last week. The No. 16 Tigers aim to end their two-game slide as they host Vanderbilt for a Southeastern Conference match on Wednesday evening.
Auburn (16-4, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) was progressing impressively before suffering losses in two away games — 79-75 against Alabama on Jan. 24 and 64-58 against Mississippi State on Saturday.
“There’s something to be said for beating the people you’re supposed to beat, and we’ve done that,” Tigers coach Bruce Pearl said after the loss to the Bulldogs. “Not many people are going to come in here and beat Mississippi State. We’d like to think that we had a shot at it, but we didn’t get enough (players to) step up. You have to step up and be able to make plays.”
The Tigers plummeted eight positions in the rankings and will attempt to change their fortunes against Vanderbilt (5-14, 0-6), which has suffered defeats in six consecutive games.
Auburn emerged victorious against the Commodores 80-65 on Jan. 17 in Nashville, where Jaylin Williams delivered an outstanding performance with 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The Tigers have emerged victorious in six of their last seven encounters with the Commodores.
In the game against Mississippi State, Auburn was outperformed on the boards. The Bulldogs held a 45-30 advantage in rebounds, 14 of which were on the offensive end. Pearl acknowledged that this was a major concern for his team.
“I hate to be right sometimes,” Pearl said, “but my concern of where we were with our defensive rebounding — that’s a big part of it.”
Center Johni Broome contributed 14 points for Auburn, all of which were scored in the second half. Broome leads the Tigers in scoring (15.7 points per game), rebounding (8.7), and blocked shots (42).
He has achieved double-digit scoring in 11 consecutive games. Williams (12.1) is the only other Auburn player averaging in double figures. The Tigers hold a 10-0 record at home as they confront a Vanderbilt team that is 0-4 in true away games.
Vanderbilt prolonged its struggles with a 75-62 home defeat against No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday. The Commodores were unable to contain the scoring prowess of Dalton Knecht of the Volunteers as he accumulated 32 points.
This loss marked the 13th defeat in 15 games following Vanderbilt’s opening of the season with three wins in four matches. The only wins in the past two months came against Alabama A&M and Dartmouth.
“It absolutely doesn’t feel good to be where we are,” Commodores coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “But at the same time, we know that it’s part of the big picture and where we need to go.”
Stackhouse is striving to maintain an optimistic outlook despite the hardships faced by his team.
“Most guys probably wouldn’t say it, but I really love my team even though they’re 0-6 (in the SEC) because they’re doing the things that we’re asking them to do and they’re getting better,” Stackhouse said. “And I think that’s all you can really ask for. And hopefully we can break through.”
Tyrin Lawrence contributed 21 points against Tennessee, marking his ninth consecutive game with double-digit scoring. He has recorded three 20-point performances in this stretch.
Lawrence ranks second on the Commodores with an average of 14.3 points per game. Ezra Manjon boasts the highest scoring average in the team with 15.1 points per game.
