Auburn basketball escaped Austin with the first SEC road win of the season against Texas.
No. 2 Auburn basketball escaped Austin, Texas, with an 85-82 victory over the Longhorns in a down-to-the-wire victory in the Tiger’s first match with the Longhorns in the last 70 years.
The Tigers held a comfortable 39 to 27 lead at the half and led by as many as 21 points in the second half but powered by 34 points of Arthur Kaluma cut into the deficit and trailed as few as three points late in the second half.
“Texas is a dangerous team. I’m glad we don’t have to play them again, at least in the regular season,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “Road wins against the better teams in the league they’re not going to be many of those.”
Four consecutive free throws down the stretch by Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford were the difference in holding off the Longhorn’s comeback and made a game at one point a blowout, a game that came down to the final possession.
Takeaway #1: Playing in the first tight game of the season
Auburn picked up its seventh win in a row, and the other six had all been by 15+ points. While this game appeared to be headed in the same direction, the Longhorns battled back and scared Tiger fans.
“It was actually good for us,” said Broome. “Nobody in the huddle was panicked. We needed a close ballgame. We needed some adversity to see how we could handle it.”
Auburn didn’t waiver in its first actual down-to-the-wire game, and this is a good sign moving forward for fans as they have enjoyed pure dominance throughout the non-conference schedule. The SEC team moved to 9-3 in-home games after the Tuesday slate, and being able to battle in close games on the road will be the key to rising to the top of the conference.
Takeaway #2: Miles Kelly
As we have learned so far this season, any guard on this roster can play on any night, and tonight was the Miles Kelly game.
The shooting guard scored 18 points, grabbed three rebounds, and shot 4-for-6 on 3-point attempts.
Kelly’s range made the difference for Auburn, and he displayed an NBA-level range. He will be an essential piece for the Tigers moving forward, as the team’s 3-point percentage remains the highest in the SEC.
Takeaway #3: Second-half defense
After limiting the Longhorns to 27 points and on one assist, it seemed the Tigers had found their stride on the defensive end, which caused them trouble on their road trip to Duke.
However, these woes came to life in the second half, allowing Texas to climb back into the game. It allowed 55 second-half points, led by the 34 from Kamula.
“I think our bigs can guard better than that, but I want to give Kaluma the credit,” Pearl said.
While the offense is still elite enough to put the team in positions to win, it will be crucial for the team to tighten the ship on defense when the ball bounces wrong on the offensive end.
Next up for Auburn (14-1): vs. South Carolina (10-2) – Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. EST
Next up for Texas (11-3): at. Tennessee (14-1) – Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. EST