How about them Lady Tigers?

January 26, 2009

By Jon Johnson

The Auburn women’s basketball team is suddenly the talk of the school. More than 12,000 fans jammed into Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Sunday to watch the unbeaten Tigers whip the much-respected Lady Vols of Tennessee.
It was the biggest crowd to watch a basketball game - men or women - since the Coliseum was downsized a number of years ago, and the biggest crowd in Auburn women’s basketball history.
Win and they will come, whether it’s men or women playing the sport.
Remember when Auburn men’s basketball was the hot ticket during the Chris Porter slamming days?
Now it’s the women who have taken center stage.
It will be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring.
For those players wearing the orange and blue, it’s got to be a lot of fun.
The fans are obviously having a lot of fun, too.

Auburn beats Bama

January 17, 2009

By Jon Johnson

Tay Waller and the rest of the Tigers were on fire shooting on Saturday in a 85-71 win over Alabama.
Waller had been in a terrible shooting slump before Saturday. When he’s on, Auburn obviously is a much better team.
Auburn doesn’t have a chance to do much damage inside the paint, other than the occasional strong game by Vot Barber.
Thus, Auburn must have strong outside shooting, and good defense, to compete well in the SEC.
They got both Saturday, and Alabama paid the price.

Auburn hoops against Florida

January 14, 2009

By Jon Johnson

Auburn opens home SEC play tonight against Florida, and a welcomed addition back to the team is forward/center Johnny Lett. He missed the game at South Carolina due to academic issues, which have now apparently been cleared up.
With Lett out, Vot Barber had to play way too many minutes.
Lett doesn’t offer many points, but he’s a big presence (6-9) inside, and a valuable member by giving Barber a few minutes of rest.
Florida will be the favorite tonight, but I’ve got a feeling Auburn will give the Gators all they want.
For the Tigers to win, however, they must play in-your-face defense against a Florida team that really puts up the 3-pointers.
Slow that part of the game down, and Auburn has a real opportunity to pull off a big win.

A-Day set for March 28

January 12, 2009

By Jon Johnson

Auburn has set the date for it’s annual A-Day spring football game, changing from March to April.
Here’s the official release from Auburn University sent today.

AUBURN—Auburn’s annual A-Day game, which was originally scheduled for Sat., March 28, has been moved to Sat., April 18 at 1 p.m. CT. “Moving A-Day to mid-April will allow the football staff more time to evaluate each player so that we have a better idea of where we are as a team headed into spring practice,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “The later start will also give our players an additional month of winter conditioning to prepare for the contact period. We appreciate the fan’s understanding and support, and look forward to seeing them at A-Day.”
Auburn will tentatively begin spring practice on March 24.

Rocker coming home

By Jon Johnson

It was announced today Tracy Rocker will be returning to his alma mater of Auburn as the defensive line coach.
Great hire. Rocker was an Auburn great at defensive tackle, and has done well in the coaching ranks with such stops as Troy, Cincinnati, Ole Miss and Arkansas.
Head coach Gene Chizik continues to impress with the staff he’s assembling. Rocker is another big hire.