“We got off to a slow start offensively,” Auburn head coach Tony Barbee said. “It goes back to our defense. We continued to guard. Earlier in the season, when we only scored two points in the first nine minutes of the game, we could have been down 15 or even 20 to 2, but we continued to guard. We were able to break the ice on the rim. We were able to get it going. When we get stops on defense and play fast in the transition like that, then that will lead to easy buckets and boy do we need to find a way to get some easy buckets.”

The Tigers were scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game before two free throws by Ward. Auburn also missed its first 12 field goal attempts before Frankie Sullivan converted its first field goal of the night on a 3-pointer with 10:45 left in the first half, and the Tigers only trailed 9-7.

Auburn (13-9, 3-5) then rattled off a 20-1 run over nine minutes to take a 22-10 lead with 2:49 left in the first half. The Tigers held Georgia (10-11, 1-6) to 1-for-17 shooting during the stretch as they pulled ahead. Gabriel closed out the first half by scoring a pair of baskets in the final minute to give Auburn a 26-15 lead at the break.

Georgia began the second half with a 12-4 run that pulled the Bulldogs to within three, but Auburn responded with a Sullivan layup and a 6-0 spurt to pull back ahead by nine, 36-27, with 14 minutes to go.

A dunk by Georgia’s Donte’ Williams closed the Auburn lead to 45-42 with 4:54 to play, but the Tigers pushed it back out to 49-42. The Bulldogs closed to within 51-49 on a transition layup by Gerald Robinson, who had a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, with 52 seconds left. That is as close as Georgia had been since 7:17 left in the first half, and the Bulldogs wouldn’t get any closer.

On the next possession, Gabriel again came up big for Auburn and his three-point play gave the Tigers a 54-49 lead with only 38 seconds left.

Auburn connected on 11-of-12 free throws in the last four minutes, including 8-of-9 in the final 1:38 to secure the win. The Tigers held Georgia to 25 percent (13-of-52) shooting on the night.

“We have been playing well defensively,” Barbee said. “The last three games, we have held our opponents to under 40 percent shooting, which is a goal of ours. Tonight, we held Georgia to under 30 percent, and it was much needed because we only shot 33 percent.”

Auburn is in action next on Saturday when they visit Mississippi State in Starkville. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

Kenny Gabriel ‘s jumper gave Auburn (12-9, 2-5) a 13-12 lead with 9:43 left in the first half and point guard Josh Wallace picked up his second foul and went to the bench for the final 8:19 of the half. The Tigers’ offense never did get in sync after that.

“We didn’t do either (rebound or shoot the ball well),” said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. “We defended well enough to win the game, but when you get outrebounded by 23 rebounds and you only shoot 30 percent from the floor on the road, you are not going to win many games … on the road or at home.

“When they have one player (Jeronne Maymon), a 6-foot-7 player who is not real athletic and comes up with 19 rebounds and our three post players combined in Forbes, Chubb and Gabriel … they don’t come up with 19 combined, and he comes up with 19 by himself, it is hard to win that game.”

Tennessee (10-11, 2-4) led 30-16 at the half despite shooting 34.4 percent from the field and 2-of-10 from 3-point range. Auburn shot 24 percent, went 1-of-6 from behind the arc and was outrebounded 26-17 in the opening period while being outscored 16-2 in the paint. The 16 points tied Auburn’s season-low for a half at Florida State and at Vanderbilt.

Gabriel ended Auburn’s dry spell by making a basket on the first field goal attempt 19 seconds into the first half and the Tigers cut the lead to 32-23 on a Chubb basket with 17:20 remaining. However, Auburn wouldn’t get closer than that the rest of the way.

Gabriel led Auburn with 13 points while Varez Ward had 12 points and Rob Chubb 10. Frankie Sullivan had five points and went 2-of-12 from the floor.  Mayman led five Tennessee players in double figures with15 points and 19 rebounds. Trae Golden had 13 points, Skylar McBee had 12 points while both Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae added 11 points and six boards for the Vols.

Auburn held Tennessee to one field goal over seven plus minutes midway through the second half to close to within 42-33 with 7:39 remaining. The Vols withstood each Tiger mini-run and stretched the lead out to its largest at 64-44 with 1:07 left.

“Basically, we just got outrebounded and we didn’t score enough points,” said Gabriel. “We held them to 34 percent shooting and we shot 30 percent. We just have to find a way to make more plays on offense.”

Tennessee manhandled Auburn on the boards, outrebounding the Tigers 53-30 and outscored the Tigers 26-12 in the paint.

Auburn held Tennessee to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor but the Tigers were only 30.4 percent. The Tigers were 5-of-16 from 3-point range and the Vols 4-of-20. The Tigers have now lost eight straight games in Knoxville and seven-straight to the Vols since winning in 1998.

Auburn returns home to play host to Georgia on Wednesday at 7 pm Central. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

“Any time you lose like that, it is a heartbreaker,” said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. “I am proud of the guys with the way they fought. Any time you go on the road in this conference and you can play that hard and fight that tough and give yourself an opportunity to win, that’s all you can ask for. We had our chances. Unfortunately, they made a couple more plays than we did at the end.”

Down 54-51, Sullivan and Chris Denson missed a pair of 3-pointers on the same possession and Rob Chubb had the rebound ripped from his hands and Julysses Nobles, who had 10 points, all in the second half, had a slam dunk on the other end to give Arkansas its largest lead of the game at 56-51 with 20 seconds left.

Rickey Scott scored eight straight points for the Razorbacks giving Arkansas a 47-43 lead with 6:53 to play after a steal and layup for a 5-0 Hog run.  Chris Denson’s driving layup made it 52-51 Arkansas with 2:32 left.

The Tigers took their largest lead of the game at 37-30 on a Gabriel putback monster slam with 13:05 to go, but the Razorbacks responded with seven straight to tie it two minutes later.

“It was a pretty tough game,” said Gabriel. “The crowd was in it pretty much the whole game, especially when they went on runs. I feel like if we had taken care of the ball a little bit better and made a couple more plays, we would have won the game.”

Auburn held Arkansas (15-5, 3-2) scoreless for the first 5:49 of the game as the Razorbacks missed their first 10 shots after making their first 11 field goal attempts in a 66-64 upset win over #19 Michigan on Saturday.

BJ Young hit a 3-pointer to bring Arkansas to within 14-13 with 4:29 remaining as the Hogs went almost 10 minutes without a field goal. Adrian Forbes slammed an offensive putback to give Auburn a 22-19 halftime lead while the Tigers held Arkansas to 4-of-27 (.148) shooting from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

Arkansas outscored Auburn 10-2 from the foul line in the first half to keep the game close. Auburn had a short bench as the Tigers played over half the game without Varez Ward and Josh Langford, who both suffered injuries.

Arkansas, which shot 55.6 percent from the field in the second half and made 5-of-9 three-pointers, was led by BJ Young’s 11 points while Nobles and Rashad Madden had 10 points each.

Auburn outshot Arkansas from the field 40 percent to 35 percent and outrebounded the Razorbacks 44-29. The Razorbacks were 6-of-19 from 3 and 12-of-19 from the foul line to the Tigers’ 5-of-17 from 3 and 6-of-10 free throws. Auburn had 21 turnovers to Arkansas’ 11, only two in the second half. Arkansas outscored Auburn 21-16 in points off turnovers but the Tigers had a 15-3 edge in second chance points.

Auburn closes out its two-game road trip at Tennessee on Saturday at 5 pm CT on ESPN2.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

“Scot is a rising star who has worked with some very good quarterbacks, and has achieved a tremendous amount of success,“ Chizik said. “He is a tireless worker, is an outstanding recruiter and knows the rigors of competing in this conference. We’re very excited to have Scot join our staff and we welcome him to the Auburn family.“

At Temple, Loeffler helped guide the Owls to a 9-4 record, directing an offense that was seventh nationally in rushing averaging 256.5 yards per game and 39th nationally in scoring (30.6 ppg). Running back Bernard Pierce was sixth nationally in rushing, averaging 123.4 yards a game.

Prior to Temple, Loeffler spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons at the University of Florida as the quarterbacks coach. He led a Florida quarterback unit that led the nation in pass efficiency (167.3) in 2009, after they passed for 3,305 yards for 28 touchdowns with just five interceptions. In his first season at Florida, the Gators ranked second in the SEC in passing offense with an average of 236.1 yards per game. Loeffler guided Tim Tebow in his final season at Florida, during which he passed for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns, finishing his senior year with a passing efficiency of 164.17. Tebow left Florida with five NCAA, 14 SEC and 28 UF records.

“Auburn is one of the special jobs and special places in college athletics with a tremendous amount of history and tradition. It’s an honor to be joining Coach Chizik’s staff and I’m very appreciative of this opportunity. I’m excited to get started and look forward to beginning recruiting, meeting the players and staff, and interacting with the Auburn family.“
Loeffler spent one season in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, where he guided a quarterback unit that threw for 2,960 yards in 2008.

For six seasons, from 2002-07, Loeffler coached the quarterbacks at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he coached second-round draft pick Chad Henne. Under the tutelage of Loeffler, Henne became the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a Big Ten title and start in a BCS bowl game. Henne set school marks in career passing yards (9,715), touchdowns (87), completions (828) and attempts (1,387). He helped develop John Navarre into the team’s first All-Big Ten first-team quarterback since 1997.

A Barberton, Ohio, native, Loeffler served as Central Michigan’s quarterbacks’ coach for two seasons in 2000-01.

A quarterback for the Wolverines from 1993-96, Loeffler received his bachelor’s degree in 1996. He helped guide two NFL quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Brian Griese as a graduate and student assistant at Michigan and was a part of the Wolverine staff during the 1997 undefeated season and National Championship title.

He has seen the quarterbacks he coached at Michigan go on to play in 302 regular-season NFL games, including 275 starts. In addition, those players have garnered a combined four Super Bowl rings as pros.

Born Nov. 1, 1974, Loeffler and his wife Amie have two children, son Luke (7) and daughter Alexis (1).

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

Trailing 28-24 at the half, Auburn (12-7, 2-3) opened with a 31-10 run to take its largest lead of the game at 55-38 with 4:28 to play. The Tigers played tenacious defense and forced 23 Gamecock turnovers, 13 in the second half, and had a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers at one point in the second half alone.

“I keep saying we’re getting closer, and we are because it’s finally starting to click that if you will guard with that sense of urgency, that sense of toughness on every possession, then no matter what you do offensively, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win,” said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. “We are what we are offensively.

“We’re going to go through droughts, and we’re going to struggle to score. We only have two guys in double figures. From two of our other starters, we got one point combined. We are what we are, but if we will defend and guard and scrap and hustle with that sense of urgency, you’re going to give yourself a chance in every single game.”

Sullivan kept Auburn in it in the first half as he scored 14 of his points while the rest of the Tigers only had 10. Sullivan, which finished the game 6-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-11 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, was 5-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the opening period.

In the last three games, Sullivan is averaging 20.0 ppg while going 11-of-28 from 3-point range. He was averaging only 5.7 ppg and shooting 26 percent from the floor in the six games prior to his hot streak.

Auburn jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead but South Carolina (8-10, 0-4) later used an 8-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 22-16, with 6:09 left.

Bruce Ellington and Anthony Gill led South Carolina with nine points each as no Gamecocks scored in double figures.

With many former Auburn players in attendance for lettermen’s weekend including All-Americans Charles Barkley, John Mengelt and Lee DeFore, the Tigers used old school defense in limiting the
Gamecocks to 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 6-of-18 shooting from 3-point range.

“Defense,” said Sullivan. “Team defense. Everyone was in tune. I think that the players are coming around and see what Coach wants. He wants hard defense. That’s what he wants every night, and I think we’re showing that for him. It’s showing on the scoreboard.”

Varez Ward added eight points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for the Tigers while Chris Denson pitched in seven points. Auburn shot 44.0 percent for the game and was 7-of-18 (.389) from behind the arc. The Tigers committed only 14 turnovers, including just five in the second half, to have 28-=19 edge in points off turnovers.

Auburn begins a two-game road trip at Arkansas, a 66-64 winner over #19 Michigan, on Wednesday in Bud Walton Arena at 8 pm Central on CSS. The Tigers play at Tennessee on Saturday at 5 pm Central on ESPN2.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

That is the question Deadspin is answering today.

The website details how the press went from one story to another via emails it requested and received from Auburn.

2010 was a magical and tragic year for Auburn fans.  The school won its first football National Championship in more than 50 years while suffering through months of negative press, publicity, innuendo, endless internet rumors and more.  Deadspin offers a look behind the curtain at that time through the program’s eyes.

Frankie Sullivan led Auburn with 19 points and Rob Chubb recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds. Anthony Hickey scored 16 of his 18 points after the half to go along with seven rebounds and six assists to lead LSU while Justin Hamilton had 13 points and eight rebounds, Ralston Turner 11 points and Storm Warren 10 points and seven boards.

At the end of regulation after an Auburn turnover and Hickey split a pair of foul shots, Ward sank a 3-pointer with :00.2 on the clock on Auburn’s third 3-point attempt of the final possession to send the game into overtime tied at 56. Ward had missed 12 of his last 13 3-point attempts in the last 6 games prior to the huge make.

“On the last possession, we called a play and the guy didn’t hit the shot so I crashed the boards hard, and I got the tip actually, and it went to Frankie,” said Ward. “Frankie missed it and then Chubb tipped it to me and I just shot it, and it just went in.

“This is definitely tough (to lose). We fought hard in regulation and to let it slip away like that in overtime, it is just heartbreaking.”

Auburn only made one of its six field goal attempts and had four turnovers in overtime.

Auburn (11-7, 1-3) scored 13 straight points bridged over both halves to take a 37-34 on a Sullivan 3-pointer from the left corner while holding LSU scoreless for 5:41. Auburn increased its run to 17-4 on a Kenny Gabriel block shot and thunderous dunk on the other end to take a 44-38 lead with 12 minutes left.

“I thought both teams fought and played hard and competed, but at the end of the day, they made more plays than we did,” said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. “I am proud of the way that we fought back from that halftime deficit and came out of the locker room. We talked about those first four minutes coming out and stepping on them and we did that and got back in it.

“We just couldn’t make the plays at the end that I thought we needed to make. When we got up 6, we relaxed because we had our opportunities. We had three or four stops in a row where we could have taken advantage of them.”

Turner scored LSU’s first second half points with 14:13 left. Auburn outscored LSU 29-10 since trailing 28-15 with five minutes to go in the half.

LSU (12-6, 2-2) answered with a 10-2 run to take a 48-46 lead with 7:27 left. Auburn, which went six minutes without a point, scored only four points over a nine minute stretch as LSU took a 53-50 lead on a big Anthony Hickey 3-pointer with 2:55 to play in the game.

Gabriel had a monster dunk on a Sullivan missed 3-pointer to tie it at 53 with 1:04 left, but Hickey, who had 13 of his 15 points in the second half, answered with a layup to put LSU back ahead 55-53 with 40 seconds left.

LSU used a 12-1 run to take its largest lead at 28-15 lead with 4:57 left in the first half as Auburn went over seven minutes between baskets. Auburn closed the half on a 12-6 run to close go into the half down 34-27 after a Sullivan midcourt 3-point runner that beat the buzzer.

LSU outshot Auburn 44 percent to 35 percent from the field while Auburn was 6-of-24 from 3-point range and LSU 6-of-20. Auburn was only 8-of-15 foul line compared to LSU’s 7-of-9. After being outrebounded 20-13 at the half, Auburn responded to take a 44-37 advantage.

It was Auburn’s second-straight overtime game as the Tigers defeated Ole Miss 69-68 in double overtime last Saturday.

Auburn returns to action as it plays host to South Carolina in Auburn Arena on Saturday at 12:47 pm Central on the SEC Network.

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations

Familiar to the Southeastern Conference, VanGorder was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Georgia from 2001-04, where he was named the 2003 Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant coach. During his tenure in Athens, Georgia won one SEC title, two SEC East Division championships, captured three Bowl games and ended up with three straight top 10 finishes in the final national polls.

During VanGorder’s stint with the Falcons, the organization achieved unprecedented heights, posting four-consecutive winning seasons, a franchise first, including playoff appearances in 2008, 2010 and 2011. His defenses consistently showed marked improvements along the way.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me and my family at this point in my career, both professionally and personally, to become the defensive coordinator at Auburn,” VanGorder said. “I’m looking forward to working at a school with the success and tradition of Auburn, and for a coach like Gene Chizik, who has led the program to a national championship. I’m very appreciative to the Atlanta Falcons and Coach Mike Smith for the experience of the last four years. It’s a great organization and will have continued success in the future.”

Helping the Falcons to a 10-6 regular season record in 2011, VanGorder’s defense finished the regular season second in the NFL in red zone defense, sixth in rushing defense (97.0 ypg), and 12th in total defense (333.6 ypg).

“I’m very excited to have a coach like Brian VanGorder join our staff at Auburn. From the beginning of this process, I had one person in mind, and that was Brian,” Chizik said. “He has achieved success at every level, both professionally and collegiately, which is a testament to his ability as a coach. He has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, has won a Broyles Award at the college level, and understands what it takes to succeed in the Southeastern Conference. We’re pleased to welcome Brian and his family to Auburn.”

In 2010, the Falcons defense finished 10th in the NFL in rushing defense allowing 105.9 yards per game, which ranked fifth in the NFC. The run defense was not the only part of the defense that showed improvement in 2010, VanGorder’s defense ranked in the the top five in the NFL in scoring defense (18.0, 5th), turnover differential (+14, 3rd) and interceptions (22, 4th), marking highs for VanGorder’s defense during his tenure.

With the leadership of VanGorder, cornerback Brent Grimes earned his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2010 after posting a single-season franchise-high 23 passes defensed, and tying for the team lead in interceptions (five), while adding 82 tackles. His 23 pass breakups ranked second in the NFL in 2010.

John Abraham earned his fourth career Pro Bowl selection in 2010 as he led all defensive ends in sacks (13.0), and added 43 tackles, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one interception. He also garnered his third selection to the All-Pro team under the guidance of VanGorder.

In 2009, Atlanta’s rush defense finished tied for 10th best in the NFL (sixth in the NFC), allowing an average of only 106.8 yards per game. The ranking was 15 spots better than the previous 2008 campaign.

Under VanGorder’s leadership, the Falcons 2009 rush defense only allowed one 100-yard rusher all season and posted a streak of 10 consecutive quarters without a touchdown allowed from the second quarter of Week 15 to the fourth quarter of Week 17.

In 2008, VanGorder started the retooling process of transforming the Falcons defense into a unit that plays with intensity, passion, aggression and toughness. His troops responded by making steady improvements along the way and proved downright stingy when it came to surrendering points. The Falcons, under VanGorder’s guidance, finished 11th in the NFL in points allowed at just an average of 20.3 per contest.

With VanGorder’s direction, linebacker Curtis Lofton played a pivotal role in developing the defense. He earned a starting spot in the middle of the defense as a rookie, garnering NFL All-Rookie accolades by Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly, and finished second in the entire league among all rookies (according to Stats, Inc.) with 108 stops.

Prior to his arrival with the Falcons, VanGorder was as the head coach at Georgia Southern in 2006. VanGorder spent the 2005 season coaching the linebackers for the Jacksonville Jaguars under Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith. Jacksonville ranked sixth in the NFL in total defense that season with VanGorder’s help.

At Georgia, the Bulldogs posted a 42-10 record over his four seasons. In his last season at Georgia in 2004, the 10-2 Bulldogs and seventh ranked team in the nation produced a defense that ranked eighth overall and ninth in scoring defense. VanGorder’s 2003 defensive unit finished third nationally in scoring defense, fourth in total defense, and sixth in passing defense.

In 2002, UGA’s stout defense allowed only 31 points during the final seven games, propelling the Bulldogs to a Sugar Bowl win over Florida State (26-13) and a number three ranking overall in the polls. His strong defense also led the SEC in scoring defense and finished fourth nationally.

VanGorder also had coaching stints at Western Illinois (2000), Central Michigan (1998-99), the University of Central Florida (1995-1997), Wayne State (1992-1994) and Grand Valley State (1989-91).

VanGorder, 52, was born in Jackson, Michigan. He and his wife, Pollie, have five children: Molloy, Morgan, Mack, Montgomery and Malone.

Join the “Team Behind the Team” by choosing to contribute to the Tigers Unlimited Football Ticket Priority Program. Contributing to the Tigers Unlimited football priority program is the only way to guarantee your seat for all seven home games. The 2012 Tigers Unlimited football ticket priority renewal deadline is March 1, 2012.

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Brian Van Gorder’s Coaching Background

·      2008-2011—Defensive Coordinator // Atlanta Falcons

·      2007—Linebackers // Atlanta Falcons

·      2006—Head Coach // Georgia Southern

·      2005—Linebackers // Jaguars

·      2001-2004—Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers // Georgia

·      2000—Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers // Central Michigan

·      1998-1999—Defensive Coordinator // Central Michigan

·      1997—Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator // Central Florida

·      1995-1996—Linebackers/Special Teams Coordinator // Central Florida

·      1992-1994—Head Coach // Wayne State

·      1989-1991—Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers // Grand Valley State

Courtesy Auburn Athletic Media Relations