The Auburn Tigers lost yet again to a top-10 team when they lost 88-60 to No. 6 Purdue on Saturday at Gambridge Arena in Indianapolis.
The loss gives the 24th-ranked Tigers one more non-division game before SEC play and improves to 8-4. Auburn was also 1-4 against Final Four 1 teams prior to the SEC slate. Kevin Overton led the Tigers with 22 points and five rebounds.
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Here are five key statistics that contributed to the loss.
Auburn’s top 10 puzzles
The Tigers currently have a record of 8-4, with all four losses coming at the hands of top-10 teams. The first game against Houston was a one-point loss early in the season. The other three schools aren’t close to Michigan, Arizona and Purdue. In these games, Auburn has lost by a total of 87 points, with an average margin of victory of 29 points. Despite the difficult circumstances, head coach Steven Pearl remains optimistic. “I’m just telling everyone I’m encouraged. I know the fans probably don’t want to hear this right now and I really don’t care,” Pearl said. “But I’m encouraged and I agree. You know, everything this team is trying to do is still achievable.”
Hall and Pettiford
For Auburn to beat Purdue, they will need big games from Keyshawn Hall and Tahad Pettiford. They didn’t get that from any of their stars. Hall scored only 14 points on 5 of 11 shots, and Pettiford scored only 5 points on 2 of 7 shots. While it’s rare for two players to perform well in the same game, the game against Purdue was the first game where neither player performed well.
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Paint Rating
In Auburn’s previous two games against Arizona and Chattanooga, the Tigers trailed in the paint 96-54. That was the case again on Saturday, with Purdue leading 40-20. The issues in the paint are more of a defensive issue than an offensive issue. This Auburn team is more of a perimeter team, with the only real scoring threat inside being Ke’Sean Murphy. Auburn’s only chance to score inside was when the defenders drove into the paint. Purdue’s frontcourt was led by Trey Kaufman-Renn who scored 18 points.
Points reduced for mistakes
The turnover battle between Auburn and Purdue is extremely close. The Boilermakers committed 11 turnovers compared to Auburn’s 10. The part that hurt Auburn was not taking advantage of these Purdue mistakes. They turned Auburn’s 10 turnovers into 14 points. Auburn scored just four points off Purdue’s 11 turnovers. The Boilermakers also took advantage with a 9-3 fast break score.
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three point shot
For any basketball team that is at a disadvantage, the three-point line is a good means of suppression. Unfortunately for Auburn, this is another statistical category in which they lost to the Boilermakers. Purdue shot 12-for-26 from the field, or 46 percent, while Auburn shot 7-for-25, or 28 percent from the field. In addition, Purdue’s overall field goal percentage was 56%, and Auburn University’s 36%. Purdue guard CJ Cox shot 4-for-7 from 3-point range against Auburn. Cox scored 14 points, ranking second among Purdue’s scorers.
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This article originally appeared in The Auburn Dispatch: Auburn Basketball: Five key stats from Saturday’s loss to Purdue
