Auburn basketball outplayed inside, handed first loss by Memphis

ATLANTA — Auburn basketball is unbeaten no more.

Memphis defeated Auburn 82-73 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday. The game was played as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving, an annual event put on by the VII Group that expanded to include college basketball programs in 2020. Coach Bruce Pearl has had Auburn (8-1) participate in the event every year, and Saturday was the first loss.

Kendric Davis led Memphis (8-2) to the win with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists. DeAndre Williams had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Penny Hardaway's squad shot a combined 50.0% from the field.

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Auburn made a late push to make Memphis sweat, cutting the lead to eight points and forcing a turnover with about two minutes left, but it never got closer in the second half.

Dominated inside

Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell are two of the best shot blockers in the country. The duo came into Saturday's game averaging a combined 6.3 blocks and Auburn led the nation in total blocks with 66.

But Memphis didn't care. Hardaway's team consistently probed inside and made a dent in Auburn's interior defense. Of the 82 points Memphis scored, 50 came in the paint. Memphis also outrebounded Auburn 43-32.

One of the only stats Auburn had an advantage in was turnovers, but it couldn't make good on many of the extra possessions. Despite giving the ball away four fewer times than Memphis, Auburn was outscored 19-9 in points off turnovers.

Game of runs

Auburn and Memphis were tied 8-8 after the first few minutes. The two sides traded baskets in a chippy game; eight fouls were called in the opening four minutes and a technical was assessed to Memphis' Malcolm Dandridge before the first half was over.

But then Memphis went a 17-7 run that spanned 4:46 to go up by seven points. Auburn was only able to hit two field goals during that stretch − 3-pointers from K.D. Johnson and Allen Flanigan. Auburn responded, however, with an 8-0 swing to retake the lead.

The pendulum swung again, though, as Memphis closed the first half on a 9-2 run to lead 38-32 at the break. That swing proved to be the difference, as Auburn never led in the second half.

Johnson scores early, but freshmen struggle

For the fifth time in the last six games, Johnson scored in double digits. He had 10 first-half points and helped Auburn stay in the game early, but he didn't have much help. The rest of Auburn's roster went 6-of-18 from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Included in those struggles were freshmen Yohan Traore and Chance Westry. The first-year players were a combined 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3-point range in the first half. Westry had a -6 plus/minus in seven minutes, and Traore was -14 in nine minutes of action.

Westry, who only played one minute in the second half, got significant time as the point guard on the floor in the first half when Wendell Green Jr. was on the bench. Pearl previously said he wants Westry to focus on one position, specifically point guard, and that was the case against Memphis. He notched three assists.

Johnson only shot 1-of-5 from the field in the second half, finishing the game with 14 points on 14% shooting from 3-point range.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball outplayed inside, handed first loss by Memphis