How Auburn’s Aggression Helped and Hurt In Preseason Loss to Alabama

The Auburn Tigers had been the subject of several concerns about heart and passion after last week’s preseason-opening matchup against Florida State, but they quickly put those narratives to bed against Alabama on Thursday. Despite the loss, the Tigers seemed to play with a new level of aggression against their rival Crimson Tide, and that aspect certainly helped their efforts throughout the game.

However, their aggression was also a large reason why they fell to the Tide, 87-85, so there will likely need to be a few adjustments moving forward. Of course, they will need to keep a high level of aggression throughout their regular season schedule, but they will have to keep that aggression somewhat contained.

After all, the two teams had a number of small scuffles throughout the match, contributing to the intensity of the game. It didn’t take long to start, either; with just under five minutes elapsed in the first half of the game, the two teams had a meeting of the minds after Auburn forward Thomas Dowd and Alabama forward Keitenn Bristow fought for a rebound, resulting in a benches-clearing skirmish in Birmingham.

In terms of how aggression helped the Tigers, just about all of their team stats improved game over game when compared to the Florida State game, though one that stood out in a big way was rebounding. The Tigers pulled in a total of 51 rebounds over the course of the game, which, when compared to the 40 they managed last week, is certainly a step in the right direction.

Additionally, their aggression made it much more difficult for the Tide to pull in rebounds, as Florida State had 51 rebounds against the Tigers last week, while Alabama only managed 42. Sure, it helped that Marcus Ponder wasn’t on the floor for the Tide like he was for the Noles, but the Tigers were able to contain Alabama’s big men, who are among some of the best in the SEC.

The Tigers also doubled their steal count from last week, as they only picked four Florida State pockets, while they snagged possession from the Tide eight times over the course of Thursday’s matchup, while their own turnovers stayed roughly the same, from 18 against Florida State to 17 against Alabama.

However, the same aggression that helped the Tigers improve in all of those facets may have also been their downfall, as the Tigers were fairly consistently in foul trouble, to the point that, in the final minutes of the game, both Tahaad Pettiford and Bukky Oboye were forced to ride the bench, while Narcisse Ngoy was heavily limited with four fouls. 

The Tigers also sent Alabama to the line for a total of 36 free throws on 29 total fouls, which borders on sloppy by SEC terms. 

It goes without saying that the Tigers’ aggression on the court is clearly one of their strongest assets, but it is also a weapon that could quickly backfire if they aren’t careful in how they manage their aggression throughout the season.

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