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Madness: Auburn falls to Yale after chaotic final possession comes up short
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Auburn couldn’t seem to find the basket on the final possession of Friday’s 78-76 loss to 13-seed Yale, and fans let the team hear about it.
An and-1 opportunity with 8 seconds left gave Auburn a chance to cut the Yale lead down to 1 point. But KD Johnson missed the ensuing free throw and chaos ensued. Johni Broome forced a jump ball on the rebound and Tre Donaldson forced his way to the free throw line with a chance to tie with 6 seconds remaining. Donaldson — an 82.9% free throw shooter coming into the game — missed both free throws.
After Donaldson’s final miss, the Tigers got 3 more cracks at it. Broome had a wild shot blocked. Jaylin Williams had a wild shot blocked. And then Johnson missed badly on a desperation 3.
The ball then went off of an Auburn player after the miss and that’s when the upset win was secured for Yale and the SEC’s rough stretch of games in the tournament continued, as the conference has gone just 1-5 through its first 6 games at the NCAA Tournament.
The impact of the missed free throws was a hot topic on social media, especially since Donaldson was usually so reliable.
Auburn joined Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and South Carolina as SEC teams that lost in the opening weekend of March Madness. Texas A&M and Alabama will have their chance to redeem the conference after what has been a rough outing so far.
Kentucky had the worst loss for the SEC for about a day before Auburn stole its thunder. The conference had a 3-seed and 4-seed both lose within 48 hours.
Here are some of the best reactions to the madness that was the final seconds of Auburn’s loss to Yale on Friday:
THE FINAL POSSESSION FROM THE YALE-AUBURN GAME WAS ABSOLUTE MADNESS?‼️
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 22, 2024
as the SEC attendee of the timeline, i can say Auburn’s chokes are always timely and abundant (but anyway go Bulldogs) pic.twitter.com/ctPfjHq3ya
— village fool, phd (@dryerflint) March 22, 2024
What a fantastic finish. This is what march madness is all about.
— Jackson Johnson (@Jackson09960335) March 22, 2024
Auburn make your free throws! ????♂️
— Dallas19841985 (@Dallas19841985) March 22, 2024
Can’t box out. Then a series of more blunders ensue by each team . Poorly coached teams on both benches.
— Prince of cedar point (@of_cedar) March 22, 2024
Tre Donaldson goin be thinking about those free throws when he 35 bro ?
— Kaleem Khan (@KaleemKhan42634) March 22, 2024
I told my Auburn buddy @AUHoopsGuy 2 years ago “I wish I was half as good at anything as KD Johnson thinks he is at basketball” and that will remain true forever
— Manny Robertson (@mannyisi) March 22, 2024
The last 10 seconds of the game pic.twitter.com/YRl0mySpfn
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 22, 2024
Auburn really cooked my bracket.
Damn shame. pic.twitter.com/iKuGZf0aU0
— ⚡️ Virgil Hawkins⚡️ (@ColeWorldSIMBA) March 22, 2024
Auburn’s tournament run pic.twitter.com/bevcSfqxcV
— Barstool Yale (@BarstoolYale) March 22, 2024
AUBURN LOST TO THE NERDS! LOL!!!!!!
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) March 22, 2024
Auburn just lost to kids who have never missed a homework assignment in their lives I’m weak
— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) March 22, 2024
Grant Bricker was a former freelancer for The News TN in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He now freelances for Saturday Football. Follow on Twitter @GrantBricker.
