Auburn’s second-half scoring swoon shooting 4-of-22 from the field after having a 10-point halftime lead against No.1-seed Houston ends the Tigers season with an 81-64 loss that defined the highs and lows of an up and down 2022-23 season.

This marks the Tigers (21-13) second-straight season that their quest for reach the Final Four for the first time since 2019 ends in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“In the first half, we had eight assists and only two turnovers,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “In the second half, we had three assists and five turnovers. We didn’t execute, which is not typical. Typical in the second half, with the offense in front of our bench, we typically have put up great offensive numbers. So give Houston credit for the way they guarded and their physicality.”

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Auburn’s 41-31 halftime lead evaporated on Marcus Sasser’s three-pointer at the 12:55 mark. Houston and Auburn traded leads until Jamal Shead scored two free throws putting the Cougars ahead 52-50 with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

Any hopes of an Auburn win got dashed as shots clanged off the backboard, the rim, and nowhere near the basket for the Tigers while they went into the net for Houston. Wendell Green went 3-of-4 shooting with a three in the first half for seven points and four assists. He shot 1-of-5 from the field in the second half and 0–for 1 from three with no assists and two turnovers.

Green was one of several Tigers that combined to shoot 4-of-22 from the floor in the second half. He noticed the difference in the intensity from Houston’s defense.

“We didn’t come into halftime thinking the game was over. I don’t think that was the case,” Green said. “They just came out and showed why they’re a No. 1 seed. They did that in the second half; they played good. They’ve got a lot. It is frustrating to know that we beat ourselves pretty much the whole year. Things that we lost on, we can control. It is frustrating that that’s how our season ends.”

It’s hard to win a game scoring four field goals. Allen Flanigan scored a layup with 18:00 left. Auburn didn’t hit another basket until Green’s only bucket of the second half at the 7:22 mark. Despite going scoreless for 10 minutes the Tigers trailed by one.

Auburn didn’t make another bucket until a little over three minutes remaining. Johni Broome swished a layup at the 3:21 mark with Auburn down by 11 points.

“I think we got some pretty good looks,” Pearl said. There wasn’t a lot of, like — there wasn’t a ton of panic. Maybe a few possessions in the last 5 or 6 minutes when we didn’t run. Panic meaning we didn’t run anything. Overdribbled. In the second half, we drove it downhill, and sometimes we got fouled,d and sometimes they blocked our shot. And in the first half, we had much more purpose driving it, passing it. We didn’t share the ball in the second half.”

Another issue for the Tigers was a poor performance from the free-throw line. Auburn shot 15-of-26 from the charity stripe in the second half and 19-of-36 for the game. Houston was a perfect 18-of-18 on second-half free throws and shot nearly 87% on the night.

Jaylin Williams had 11 points in the first half and three in the second on 1-of-4 shooting with a made free throw that completed a three-point play. He felt the missed free throws in both halves left points off the scoreboard that could’ve made the game closer.

“All it is, is free throws are just concentration. You could be tired, but you have ten seconds to shoot a free throw,” Williams said. “That’s on all of us. I missed one; a few guys missed a few. We make our free throw; we’re battling to win the game.”

Auburn’s season ends with a 21-13 record with an exit in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“In the second half,f they did everything they needed to do offensively,” Pearl said. “We couldn’t guard them. The guys could look at this or that. They scored 50 points in the second half. That’s why they won.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.