It wasn’t Auburn basketball’s day.

The Tigers fell in Game 1 of the SEC/Big 12 challenge Saturday, dropping a close game to West Virginia, 80-77. With the loss, Auburn has now dropped 2 games in a row.

But it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Tigers fought all the way back from a 17-point deficit, thanks in part to a strong 2nd half from KD Johnson. Senior Jaylin Williams was Auburn’s most consistent scorer on the day, adding a team-high 18 points. Johni Broome played well as well, adding 15 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds.

Wendell Green had a good look at a potential game-tying 3 as time expired, but couldn’t hit iron. Erik Stevenson was the star of the game for West Virginia, adding a career-high 31 points with 6 rebounds in an incredible effort.

Auburn is unlikely to be ranked next week following back-to-back losses, but more importantly may be in trouble as far as the postseason seeding is concerned. The Tigers’ best win came in November against Northwestern, with another good win against an injury-riddled Arkansas team. Otherwise, Auburn has struggled in big games this season, dropping to Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, Memphis and now West Virginia.

The Tigers have 2 games remaining against both Alabama and Tennessee. They desperately need to start winning these types of games for a good seed come March.

The SEC is now 0-1 in the SEC/Big 12 challenge.