Coffee and Magnolia: 9 February 2015

AUBURN BASKETBALL

The men had a half-time lead and played tight with Ole Miss, but couldn't pull out the victory. Auburn Arena was filled and loud, which is a good sign going forward. The Tigers next take the court on Tuesday against another very tough opponent in Arkansas.

The women had the lead at Missouri, but let the other Tigers come from behind and get the victory. The ladies are now 0-11 in SEC play, and on a 12 game losing streak overall.

AUBURN SPORTS

We'll have a full update later today.  Just to give you some quick bits, though: it was a close match in the Iron Bowl of gymnastics, but Auburn couldn't break the 35 year streak; and it was a very good start to the season for Auburn softball over the weekend.

AUBURN FOOTBALL

Looking ahead to next season, AL.com is jumping on the preview train early and hard, with multiple articles on what players could contribute next season. First is an article on this past season's redshirts and where they may make immediate contributions. Next is which of the newest crop of Auburn Tigers to sign with the school last Wednesday could possibly work at multiple roles and positions. Finally, they look at five positions where the incoming signees may face an uphill climb for playing time based on the current roster situation.

When it comes to recruiting, Auburn has spent a lot of money in the past few seasons. Above board money. We're not talking bagman money, here.

Speaking of Auburn and spending money, AD Jay Jacobs spoke about the other upgrades possible for Jordan-Hare Stadium coming in the very near future aside from just MOTHRATRON. This is the part where I beg them to lower the field a bit. Please. Just a bit. I didn't sit on the first row this season, but I did in 2013. I had to watch games on the Jumbotron, because if you're on row 1, 2, and sometimes 3, and you're right behind the teams, then you can't see a thing. It's horrible.

Seven former Tigers were invited to the NFL combine. Among the notable snubs are TE CJ Uzomah and RB Corey Grant. Grant did not see much action late in the season, so I guess it's somewhat understandable he was left off, although I really thought his speed would get him in. CJ Uzomah was very surprising, though. Uzomah played well in the college all star games, and has shown a lot of versatility and pass-catching ability.

One other big shock is that Nick Marshall was invited not as a DB, but as a quarterback. He still plans on working with the defensive backs, however.