Too big, too hot

ATLANTA — With a shooting guard bigger than Auburn’s so-called “center” and a true big man five inches taller than any Tiger on the floor, Vanderbilt probably shouldn’t have had much trouble scoring Thursday — and didn’t.

The Commodores nearly broke the Southeastern Conference tournament’s shooting-accuracy record in a 93-82 victory in the Georgia Dome. They shot 76 percent from the field in the first half and cooled off to finish at a still-smoking 67.3 percent.

Power forward Ross Neltner was the only Vanderbilt player to have more than one field-goal attempt and shoot less than 50 percent.

SEC player of the year Shan Foster and freshman center A.J. Ogilvy combined to shoot 21-for-27 from the floor. Ogilvy was 12-for-13 in scoring 27 points, while Foster was 6-for-9 on 3-pointers in adding 26.

“That proficiency is awfully good,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said.

Auburn (14-16) hit enough shots to hang with the Commodores (26-6) until 6-foot-8 senior Quan Prowell — the Tigers’ only legitimate post presence — fouled out with just under 12 minutes left. Sophomore wing Lucas Hargrove hit a 3-pointer moments after Prowell went to the bench to cut the Commodores’ lead to 61-56, but Vandy responded with a 10-0 run to take control.

Junior guard Rasheem Barrett’s steal and slam with 3:17 left got Auburn within 83-73, but the Tigers couldn’t get it back to single digits. Barrett led them with 20 points.

The 6-11 Ogilvy and 6-6 Foster had no problems finding space against the Tigers, whose 6-6 center weighed 20 pounds less than perimeter star Foster.

“It was hard for our kids against Ogilvy in there,” Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. “He’s savvy, he’s got great hands and his body is so big. It kind of reminds me of playing in my back yard against my 6-year-old son. I can score on him whenever I want.”

Auburn shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and barely finished below that mark. But as Lebo said, “offense hasn’t been our problem.

“I’d say trying to stop people with a 6-6, 190-pound center was the issue,” he added.

Even Prowell, who weighs just 215 pounds, isn’t a natural post player. He was supposed to play small forward (and some shooting guard) for the Tigers. Frank Tolbert was supposed to be Auburn’s starting 2 guard before injuries and suspensions forced the 6-4 senior to play power forward.

“I don’t know if people understand the sacrifice, when you’re a senior, to have to do that,” Lebo said. “I would think about my own career, and if I had to do that, it would be very difficult. But they never complained, and they never wanted it any differently. They said they’d do anything to help this team.”

Thursday, that meant defying physics.

“I’m just so small,” said Tolbert, who scored 17 points. “It’s just as much as I can do to keep (Ogilvy) from getting the ball.”

Foster shooting like he did Thursday doesn’t help, either. Stallings implored his players — all but one of them — to be patient and wait for good inside looks Thursday.

“It will probably come as a great shock, but I didn’t put any restrictions on Shan,” Stallings said. “I told Shan, ‘If it feels round, you can shoot it.’ But the other guys needed to make a couple of extra passes.”

Ogilvy will face a completely different front line today. Arkansas is one of the biggest teams in the country, with five players 6-8 or taller in its main playing rotation. The Razorbacks (20-10) are also sitting squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble and could use a neutral-court win today.

The Commodores are simply playing for NCAA seeding and pride after losing four consecutive games to the Hogs.

“Arkansas is going to be a bit of a different game,” Ogilvy said. “A lot more physical.”