Getting ready for Kent State
Auburn plays Kent State tonight, giving us Auburn basketball junkies a place to focus our hype following arguably the best regular season non-conference win in program history.
Kent State went 17-17 last season, sporting losses to top 100 teams such as James Madison, Oregon, and Saint Mary’s. Auburn should win and there’s nothing eye-popping about Kent State that I feel needs to be pointed out right away. So, I think it’s fair—and more fun—to focus on some of Auburn’s bench marks and bright spots.
Turtle and Jahki or more CBM?
I’m curious to see what kind of run they get tonight, if any, especially against a team Auburn should handle with ease. Auburn didn’t need either of the two against Houston, but both can be good bench pieces for this team.
If those two aren’t playing, I hope to see Chad Baker-Mazara stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court. Kent State doesn’t have much size outside of its front court, and Baker-Mazara’s shooting, facilitating, and rebounding can take advantage of smaller matchups.
JP Pegues is the only starter averaging less minutes than Baker-Mazara so far this season.
Can he do it again?
Auburn has a preseason All-American and a preseason All-SEC selection on its team, but I’m guessing most eyes will be focused on star freshman Tahaad Pettiford tonight.
Chances are that anyone reading this also saw what he did to Houston, teaming up with the seniors on the roster to give Auburn a successful late second half rally. However, Pettiford didn’t score in Auburn’s opening night bout with Vermont.
Against Houston, Pettiford looked ready to start. Against Vermont, he looked good but he didn’t look 100-percent confident.
Having a good scoring game in game two, against an elite team led by its defense, is better than it being the other way around. Still, I think Pettiford’s follow-up performance will give us some insight into how far along he really is. It will also let us see if his ball-dominant play against Houston gets him more point guard minutes moving forward.
If he builds off the Houston performance it shows he’s coming up to speed extremely quickly. If it’s a little quieter, maybe it points to defenses already keying in on him a little more. Maybe we’ll get to see some of his and Auburn’s counters if the latter rings true.
Pettiford will likely be matched up, on both sides of the court, with smaller guards. One being fellow New Jersey native Cian Medley. Kent State has plenty of experience to throw at the freshman; the Golden Flashes return four starters and have seven seniors on the team.
I think one of the biggest strides Pettiford made against Houston was defensively. He locked in on his second half man defense, and I think that played a role in Bruce Pearl keeping him out there. You can’t give up easy looks against a team that fights you for every dribble like Houston does, and Pettiford’s improvements were visible in-game.
Him showing that he can have as much of an impact defensively as the seniors do, which he has the ability to do in every area not height related, will make him hard to keep off the court.
Defending without fouling
Kent State has shot a lot of foul shots this season and is averaging 17 makes per game from the line. Auburn has made 19 on the season.
Kent State has also been a good rebounding team, even ranking higher than Auburn in rebounding percentage on both sides of the court, per KenPom.
If Kent State wants a chance at winning, or even just scaring Auburn, I imagine fouls and rebounds will play a hand in it. Auburn, of course, has a front court capable of nullifying any of Kent State’s advantages.
Kent State also turns it over a ton, so there will be plenty of chances for Auburn to game on steals and blocks.
Will Chaney Johnson start?
Johnson has looked like one of the team’s best players and carried the load for Auburn early on against Houston. This would be a good time to get him acclimated to the starting lineup if it is in the cards. Moving him into the starting lineup could also free up some extra room for Johni Broome with the adding spacing from Johnson’s perimeter game. On the flip side, having Johnson as the second-team’s go-to scoring option could also be beneficial – especially since we know he’ll get his minutes and his run alongside Broome.
Between Johnson, Miles Kelly, Tahaad Pettiford, and the other current starters, Auburn has plenty of mouths to feed. Pearl has mentioned using different starting lineups as well. Even if a new starting lineup isn’t permanent, it still might be fun to see.
Will Miles Kelly answer the call?
We know he can shoot, and we’ll still need to see him score against a better defense no matter what he does tonight, but I hope the senior guard can get some momentum after being held to just five points and one made three against Houston. Regardless of the opponent, it’s always nice to see a shooter like Kelly snap back after a quiet night. It can instill some confidence in their ability to do the same thing in a game.