Auburn's postseason run comes to end at hands of top-ranked Kentucky
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In Auburn's locker room following a 91-67 loss, senior guard KT Harrell spoke of leaving a legacy while his younger teammates snacked on boxed lunches. It was a strange topic given the circumstances, but while the Tigers couldn't provide any semblance of drama for the nation's No. 1 team, their mere survival in the SEC Tournament's earlier rounds points to, in the program's eyes, a brighter future.
"To finally see results here and now," Harrell said looking around, "it makes it feel a lot better."
Miracle runs in March often come with an expiration date. For Auburn, after winning three games in three days, Saturday's conference tournament semifinal against undefeated Kentucky was that predetermined end to a surprising run. If the Tigers needed everything to fall into its perfect place for any shot at a monumental upset, those aspirations were upended on Friday night and once again on Saturday afternoon minutes before tip-off. Going against the nation's top-ranked team as it continues to chase perfection, Auburn's roster was not only undersized and featured nine fewer McDonald's All-Americans, but also severely shorthanded.
During an overtime win over LSU, 6-foot-8 Tigers forward Jordon Granger was ejected for throwing a punch and subsequently suspended for the Kentucky game. Then, minutes prior to tip-off against the Wildcats, the school announced that its top rebounder, Cinmeon Bowers, was suspended due to a potential rules violation.
Down two post players, 6-foot-5 walk-on Devin Waddell was the tallest starter on the floor for coach Bruce Pearl.
It was far from an ideal scenario against one of the tallest and most athletic teams in college basketball history -- though, as Pearl pointed out when asked about Granger and Bowers after the game, "We had them both last time and we got beat by five touchdowns." -- and a predictable storyline unfolded.
The Wildcats dominated on the interior, mercilessly so. They blocked seven shots and altered countless others. Auburn shot 33.3 percent from the floor and could not find consistency from long range. The Tigers stuck to their attacking game plan and reached the free-throw line 34 times (their specialty), but they had no answer on the defensive end and zero room for error. They held the lead for 17 seconds before Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison knocked down a 3-pointer and stole it for good.
Auburn made sporadic pushes, chiseling the margin down to 13 one two separate occasions in the second half, but Kentucky never really had to look into its rearview mirror.
This was the expected hit to the team's record, its 20th loss of the year that sealed the deal on Pearl's first career losing season. That's not the coach's angle, though.
"The story is a team that got kicked over and over again, went through all kinds of different things with injuries and some discipline, and yet they never fell apart. They stayed together," he said, specifically of his senior class. " ... We can feel good about the way it ended. We've got a long, long way to go to have this program where we all think it can be."
Pearl's inaugural season on The Plains provided at least three steps in the right direction.
Piecing together a ragtag collection of players -- a late JUCO addition (Bowers), mid-major transfers (Antoine Mason, K.C. Miller-Ross) and an accompanying bundle of inexperience -- the program finally found some footing. It notched wins over Xavier, LSU (twice), Georgia and South Carolina, each a top-75 team in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings. For comparison's sake, former coach Tony Barbee logged five top-75 wins in his four seasons on campus. And by beating Mississippi State, Texas A&M and LSU on consecutive nights at Bridgestone Arena, Pearl led Auburn to three SEC Tournament wins for the first time in 30 years.
The Tigers' reward was a giant, a juggernaut chasing history. Nobody said this turnaround would be easy.
The wheels are turning, though, and the vehicle looks to be heading in the right direction.
Pearl has been making headlines since arriving on campus. He's marched into classrooms backed by marching bands and sat in dunk tanks. The 54-year-old coach has been selling a vision for months, but this March push provided the first tangible evidence that there's something behind it.
Harrell & Co. took their lumps, but they never planned for miracles.
"It means that we'll always be remembered," said senior KT Harrell when asked about the team's tourney run. "When we begin to get into the tournament and win tournament championships, they're gonna look back at this team and say, 'This is when it started.' ... We did some good things during the season, but I don't think they'll really think about what we did during the season because we had a losing record. We beat Georgia at Georgia. We beat LSU at LSU. We did some good things. But I think they'll really remember us for what we did during this tournament because nobody expected us to be here."
There are future stumbling blocks ahead.
Pearl has to find a way to replace a senior-laden backcourt of Harrell, Mason, Miller-Ross and Malcolm Canada. There are holes all over the roster and the team still finished 4-14 in a projected four-bid league, finishing outside the top-100 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Still, a top-25 recruiting class is on the way and the final moments of the 2014-15 provided some memorable moments, something to build upon.
"There were four teams left on Saturday: Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia and Auburn," Pearl said. "The foundation is laid."
