AUBURN, Ala. – Against a team the caliber of fifth-ranked Auburn, Tom Crean knew that his young team’s ability to keep its composure would be vital to having a chance Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately, that failed to happen as the fifth-ranked Tigers overcame a slow start to crush the Bulldogs 82-60.
"They (Auburn) really don't seem to let misses and things like that affect them on the other end and it really stood out even more today with our youth,, especially starting three freshmen," Crean said. "When your shots aren't going, when your free throws aren't falling, it affects your defense and we let it affect our rebounding. That's the difference when you're going against a highly-mature final four team with a lot of guys back who play with a tremendous spirit and energy as opposed to a team that's got to find some collective leadership."
The loss drops Georgia to 10-5, 0-2 in the SEC.
On Friday, Crean expressed concern with how his team, consisting of nine true freshmen, would fare against the senior-laden Tigers, who remain unbeaten at 15-0, 3-0 in the SEC.
Those fears were not unfounded. Early struggles by touted freshman Anthony Edwards epitomized the problems endured by Georgia in the game.
Although Edwards, who was just 2 of 9 from the free throw line, hit his average, scoring a team-high 18 points, but most came during junk time in the second half, with the game already decided.
"I was missing, there's really not anything I can say about that," said Edwards, who came in converting 50 of his previous 67 free throws (.746 percent. "I just didn't make them."
The sellout crowd of almost 10,000 let Edwards know about it, chanting "overrated" whenever he went to the line.
"That didn't bother me; I was just frustrated at myself," said Edwards. "I was mad at myself for missing my free throws; other than that, I don't really care about stuff like that."
Auburn's Allen Flanagan said he could sense Edwards' frustration.
"He dropped his head a couple of times," Flanagan said. "It gave me more confidence to keep pressuring him and trying to stay on his right."
Crean didn't necessarily agree with Flanagan's assertation.
"I don't know if it's frustration as much as it's youth," Crean said. "There's real confidence and there's bravado. Kids have to learn, everybody has to learn, and I'm not singling him out, but as a young kid you have to earn real confidence. You earn it."
Edwards wasn’t the only team member who struggled.
Junior Rayshaun Hammonds was the only other Bulldog to finish in double-figures, with 12 points for Georgia, converting 19 of 50 shots from the field.
The Bulldogs were worse from the line. Georgia went went to the stripe a season-high 33 times, but made good on just 17.
Auburn, meanwhile, showed exactly why the Tigers advanced to last year’s NCAA championship.
Bruce Pearl’s senior-laden squad placed three players in double-figures, with Samir Doughty leading the way with 17 points, followed by Allen Flanigan and Anfernee McLemore with 12 each.
The game, which tipped off at 11 a.m. local time due to expected storms, started well enough for Georgia, which opened up an eight-point lead five minutes into the start of the contest.
But the Bulldogs’ nightmare would soon begin.
How ugly was it?
The Bulldogs failed to make a single field goal over the final 6:31, allowing Auburn to find its groove to start to put the game away.
With Georgia struggling, the Tigers went on a 17-1 run late, over a stretch of 4:56, before the Bulldogs used a pair of free throws by Christian Brown.
The Bulldogs finished the first half by going just 8 of 25 from the field. That included a 1 for 5 start by Edwards, who missed all three of his three-point attempts.
"When your mental toughness starts to drag, when there's not communication, there's dunks, there's put-backs, there's mistakes, and they capitalized on those today," Crean said. "Auburn's a tremendous team. Not only one of the best in the league but in the country and any conversation that comes up in the next few months of who should win it all should have Auburn in it."
Auburn, meanwhile, connected on 6 of its 14 three-point attempts, with all six coming from different players.
Doughty led the Tigers’ first-half effort with 10 points.
Georgia returns to action Wednesday night against Tennessee.
