Auburn hosted a men's and women's basketball doubleheader last night against South Florida. The Tigers swept the Big East teams in action at the Auburn Arena.
The women won the first game downing the Bulls (6-4) 62-45. Auburn (6-2) never trailed in the game, jumping out to an 8-0 start and never looking back. Sophomore Camille Glymph, had four 3-pointers in her first start. She led the Tigers with 23 points.
The win gives Auburn its best start in three years. The Tigers' two losses have come on the road to Temple and No. 8 Duke. Their six wins average margin of victory has been 30.3 points per game.
Head coach Nell Fortner has used eight different starters and three different lineups so far this season. She said she was very pleased with the win and added,
"We were a little rugged out there. We've been off for 10 days, and maybe that had a little something to do with it, but I thought we had some great efforts."
In the men's game Frankie Sullivan and Chris Denson each scored 12 points to pace the Tigers (5-1) to a 52-40 victory. The men had an 11 day layoff since playing Seton Hall in the Big East Challenge.
Coach Tony Barbee said,
"When you are off for so many days, you lose that game sharpness. I liked the way we responded. We didn't let our lack of offense in the first 10 minutes bury us. We still guarded and rebounded. You have to win what I call a `grind out' game, and tonight was one of those. I am proud of the fact that the guys responded. They made free throws, made plays and made shots when we needed them."
Coach Barbee had to be pleased with the improved defensive play of his Tigers. That's an area he has harped on loud and often in this young season.
Auburn shot their best free throws so far this year, hitting 83.3 percent on 15-of-18 from the line. And the Tigers held South Florida to the fewest points by an opponent since December 29, 2008 when Alabama A&M scored 40.
Like the women, the Auburn men are off to a good start. In fact it's the best start for the Auburn men's program in seven years.
The men will play again on Saturday hosting North Florida at 7 pm CST at the Auburn Arena. The Women will play Purdue in the Arena at 2pm on Sunday.