There was a clear and obvious size mismatch between the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Auburn came into this game with four active players 6-foot-10 or above, including 7-foot-1 center Walker Kessler. Georgia on the other hand, only had two active players six-foot 10 or above.
The size discrepancy was apparent from the start as Auburn blocked multiple shots early in the first half. Even when the Tigers weren’t blocking shots, they were altering shots at the rim with great effectiveness. This effective defense by Auburn caused Georgia to shoot an inefficient 21.4% from the field in the first half.
Georgia also struggled on the glass in the first half as the Bulldogs were out-rebounded by a 25-17 margin. The Tigers also had a clear advantage in second chance points in the first half.
“No question the concern was going to be the backboards,” Head Coach Tom Crean said. “Ultimately, it was an offensive board that got us. That was going to be the biggest concern was how can we compete on the glass with their size, not try to challenge them at the rim because of the shot blocking abilities they have.
The concern quickly turned into a reality as Auburn turned in nine blocks on the day and out-rebounded Georgia 46-35. The Bulldogs were often deterred from driving to the paint down the stretch due to the presence of Kessler.
While Georgia fought back from a halftime margin, turning the final minutes into a coles back-and-forth, Auburn took a 74-72 lead which would prove to be the final score with 3.3 seconds remaining. Ironically enough, the game winning basket was a second-chance point by Auburn’s shortest starter, Wendell Green Jr.
There seemed to be controversy surrounding the final play, as it appeared Jaxon Etter drew a clean charge on the Green Jr. layup attempt. However, there was no foul called. Crean was clearly frustrated post game with the controversial no-call on the final play.
“Just saw that clip [of the final play] so I’m trying to prepare myself mentally, just saw that before I walked in here so it is a tough way to lose but at the end of the day our guys played.”