SEC CHAMPS!

The Auburn Tigers for the just the third time in school history won the SEC tournament yesterday. Auburn came into the tournament with an 26-9 overall record and a 11-7 Conference Record. Auburn ran into a top ranked Tennessee team that has played well all year. Both teams met the first time on March 9th where Auburn won 84-80. The Auburn forward Chuma Okeke led the team in scoring with 22 points. Bryce Brown and Jared Harper both had 16 points for the Tigers and had a combined 10 assists. One of the major keys to Auburn's game is the three point shot. They were 38% behind the three point line going 13 for 34. They were able to establish the perimeter which was able to open up lanes for their forwards to get easy buckets on the inside. The same went for the second matchup of the two teams in the championship on March 17th. Brown had 19 points paired up with 18 points coming from the forward Okeke as well. A big reason why Auburn was able to come out on top was the rebounding. Auburn had 39 rebounds, 13 of them were offensive. It is hard to beat a great shooting team like Auburn that is able to command the glass and get second chance points. Auburn's Head coach Bruce Pearl said that "The Championship means so much because it might have been the best year the SEC has had... Auburn is its Champion? That says a lot about these guys, our coaching staff, and the program." Auburn comes into the NCAA Tournament as a 5 seed playing a 12 seed New Mexico State team. It will be interesting to see how New Mexico State is able to defend Auburn dynamic offense. If Auburn is able to establish the perimeter like they have been doing, it may be a long day for New Mexico State.