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Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games

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Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, moving on after the Tigers lost for the 12th time in their last 15 Southeastern Conference (SEC) games.

The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues during his three years on the Plains, with the team scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong side of too many close matchups, including twice this season, partly due to questionable calls.

Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will serve as interim coach for the team’s remaining four games.

“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster,” athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Our expectations for Auburn football are to annually compete for championships, and the search for the next leader of Auburn football begins immediately.”

Freeze became the eighth Power Four coach fired this season, following moves at Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCLA, and Virginia Tech. Stanford also has a vacancy after firing Troy Taylor in March.

Freeze’s final game was a 10-3 home loss to unranked Kentucky on Saturday night, during which quarterbacks Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels were sacked a combined seven times. It marked the third consecutive loss for Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC) at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Despite being diagnosed with prostate cancer in February, Freeze received much of the blame for the team’s skid. He missed on hand-picked portal quarterbacks Payton Thorne (Michigan State), Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), and possibly even Ashton Daniels (Stanford).

Under Freeze, Auburn went 1-12 against ranked teams. The Tigers owe him $15.8 million, with no mitigation, from a six-year, $39 million deal he signed to replace Bryan Harsin in 2022. Harsin himself was fired eight games into his second season, finishing with a 9-12 overall record and 4-9 in league play.

Freeze ended with a 15-19 overall record and 6-16 in conference play.

The last five losses under Freeze included continued offensive struggles, with the Tigers scoring 17, 10, 10, 17, and 3 points in defeats to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri, and Kentucky, respectively.

Now, the “Auburn Family” is searching for its fourth football coach in seven seasons. The Tigers previously fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Harsin in 2022, and now Freeze in 2025. Combined, the school will pay $52.5 million in buyout fees.

Freeze and Auburn showed promise early in the season by winning at Baylor to open 2025. The Tigers started 3-0 and were tied with Oklahoma before the season began to unravel.

The SEC acknowledged that officials missed what should have been a penalty flag before John Mateer connected with wide receiver Isaiah Sategna for a 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter against Oklahoma. Sategna appeared to run off the field before stopping outside the numbers and running a pattern for the score, which violated league rules prohibiting simulated substitutions to confuse opponents. Auburn ultimately lost 24-17.

The following week at Texas A&M, Auburn managed just nine first downs, 177 yards of total offense, and went 0-for-13 on third down in another one-possession loss.

It was more of the same against Georgia, which controlled the game after forcing a questionable fumble at the goal line late in the first half. A touchdown on that play would have given Auburn a 17-0 lead. Instead, the turnover sparked the Bulldogs, who allowed just 40 yards of offense in the second half and won 20-10. Auburn trailed 13-10 until Georgia scored in the waning minutes.

These close losses became a pattern under Freeze, who ended his tenure with a 2-10 record in one-possession games.
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/11/02/auburn-fires-hugh-freeze/

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Jaylen Brown leaves with injury as Celtics beat Raptors in preseason finale

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The Boston Celtics have been preparing to enter this season without Jayson Tatum, but now the status of his longtime co-star, Jaylen Brown, is uncertain as well. Brown, Boston’s clear-cut No. 1 option while Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery, exited Wednesday night’s preseason finale at TD Garden with what the team described as left hamstring tightness.

Brown suffered the injury midway through the first quarter. Roughly a minute after falling awkwardly on a drive to the basket, he grabbed his hamstring, called for a substitution, and walked off toward the locker room. The Celtics announced Brown was doubtful to return, and he did not re-enter the game. He finished with seven points, two rebounds, and one steal in seven minutes.

In Brown’s absence, Derrick White made a significant impact, stuffing the stat sheet, while Neemias Queta played his best game of the preseason. The Celtics narrowly defeated the Toronto Raptors 110-108 on a last-second basket by Xavier Tillman.

However, the main story heading into next Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers is Brown’s availability.

### Potential Starting Lineups

The Celtics started a lineup of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Chris Boucher, and Neemias Queta against the Raptors — a possible preview of their starting five on opening night if Brown is healthy.

If Brown misses time, the most logical starting lineup would feature Pritchard, White, Sam Hauser, Boucher, and Queta. Hauser, who started against Cleveland on Sunday, did not dress for Wednesday’s game.

### Facing Toronto’s Starters

Toronto started its top unit of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl in this game. This marked the first time the Celtics faced an opponent’s starters during the preseason, as their first three opponents had rested most of their regulars.

White, one of only two returning starters from last season’s team along with Brown, stood out on both ends of the floor. He finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four blocks, and just one turnover in 35 minutes.

No other Celtics player reached double digits until Anfernee Simons scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting and hit a crucial three-pointer with 2:53 remaining.

### Individual Performances

Pritchard struggled from the field, going 1-for-11 and 0-for-8 from three-point range. However, he made all eight of his free throws, dished out 10 assists, and posted a team-best plus-19 rating.

After seeing limited minutes in the first three preseason games, Queta impressed against the Raptors with four blocks and 12 rebounds, including five offensive boards. The Celtics’ lone 7-footer also scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, highlighted by a series of nifty post moves to score over Barnes in the second quarter.

Even with Hauser out of uniform, the Celtics utilized 12 different players in the opening quarter alone. Simons, Josh Minott, and Luka Garza entered at the 6:42 mark, followed by Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez, then Xavier Tillman and Baylor Scheierman.

### Depth and Rotation Strategy

It’s unclear how many of those reserves will see regular minutes this season, but head coach Joe Mazzulla hinted at the possibility of employing a deep rotation—or as he put it before the game, “no rotation at all”—to maximize the strengths of Boston’s new, less experienced roster.

“I don’t know that we’ll have one throughout the entire year,” Mazzulla said. “Listen, every time you have a team, a strength and a weakness can be very similar to those things, right? And I think one of our strengths is the depth that we have. We may have limited experience, we may have newness, but I think we have depth. And I think the ability to not have a rotation is a strength, because you can go to fresh guys, you can go to a bunch of different guys, you can do a bunch of different things. We’re in the, obviously, early stages of that, but I’m not sure that we will have one, and I think that actually could be a good thing for us throughout the season.”

### Frontcourt and Wing Depth Concerns

The Celtics are especially unproven in the frontcourt, where they’ll rely on Queta, Boucher, Garza, and Tillman to fill the void left by Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. On the wing behind Brown and Hauser, four young players—Minott, Walsh, Scheierman, and Gonzalez—are competing for minutes, all logging at least 11 minutes Wednesday night.

After the Celtics took a 106-94 lead with 1:53 remaining, Mazzulla opted to close with a lineup featuring Minott, Scheierman, and Gonzalez against Toronto’s backups. Although that group could not hold the lead amid several late Boston turnovers, Xavier Tillman’s game-winning 11-footer with 8.9 seconds left sealed the victory and sent the TD Garden crowd home happy.

Tillman, who also drained a clutch three-pointer earlier in the fourth quarter, was the only Boston reserve to finish with a positive plus/minus in the win.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/10/15/jaylen-brown-leaves-with-injury-as-celtics-beat-raptors-in-preseason-finale/

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Juventus 0-0 Milan – Honours even in cagey affair in Turin as Pulisic misses penalty

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**Juventus and Milan Share the Points After Goalless Draw at Allianz Stadium**

Juventus and Milan played out a tense 0-0 draw at the Allianz Stadium this evening, a match marked by a dramatic penalty miss from in-form Rossoneri forward Christian Pulisic.

The game started as a cagey affair, with neither side willing to take many risks early on. An early promising move saw Davide Bartesaghi make a strong run down the left flank, delivering a good ball into the box for Fofana, who unfortunately ballooned his shot over the bar.

Jonathan David continued his struggles in front of goal in the first of two communication mix-ups with Weston McKennie. David rose to meet a cross and headed the ball down to McKennie, who lacked the time to react effectively. The following ten minutes were slow and battle-heavy in midfield, but the play shifted out wide again, resulting in another cross for McKennie—who reacted too slowly and conceded a free-kick for a foul on Fofana.

**Both Sides Threaten Mainly From Wide Areas But Lack the Final Touch**

Both teams looked most dangerous down the flanks, exploiting the space behind the compact defenses. Milan’s first clear chance came just after the 20-minute mark when Christian Pulisic stole possession in midfield and made a surging run into Juventus’ penalty area before losing his footing.

A poor clearance from Juventus nearly gifted Fofana a golden opportunity, but the Old Lady’s defense quickly recovered to snuff out the danger. David and McKennie mixed up their communication once again soon after, squandering another promising moment.

Juventus continued to attack down wide areas, with McKennie getting on the end of a cross but sending the ball past everyone and out for a goal kick.

Shortly afterward, Manuel Locatelli played a superb pass through to Kalulu on the right wing, who neatly set up Jonathan David. However, the summer signing slipped as he prepared to shoot, and the chance went begging.

Milan had the final opportunity of the first half when Pavlovic made a surging run down the flank, delivering a great ball into the box. Santiago Gimenez rose to head but sent his effort wide from close range.

**Pulisic Misses Penalty; Milan Rue Missed Opportunity**

The second half began strongly for Juventus. After a short corner taken by Francisco Conceicao, the winger delivered a dangerous ball that flew past everyone to the back post, where Gatti volleyed a powerful shot. However, Mike Maignan produced a brilliant reflex save to deny the Juventus defender.

Milan finally had a golden chance to break the deadlock in the 52nd minute when Lloyd Kelly clumsily fouled Gimenez inside the box. Christian Pulisic stepped up to take the penalty but blasted the ball over the bar, handing Juventus a huge reprieve.

Following the missed spot-kick, Milan seized control of the game, pressing hard with Luka Modric orchestrating the play in midfield.

Juventus had some flashes of attacking moments after the hour mark. Portuguese forward Rafael Leao, who came on as a substitute, almost made an instant impact. Spotting Juventus goalkeeper Di Gregorio off his line, Leao attempted to lob from the halfway line. Although well struck and forcing the keeper to scramble, the shot narrowly cleared the crossbar.

**Substitutions Fail to Break Deadlock**

Both Massimiliano Allegri and Igor Tudor made tactical substitutions in an attempt to change the dynamic of the game. Tudor brought on high-profile players like Dusan Vlahovic and Emmanuel Openda, while Allegri introduced Leao, Christopher Nkunku, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

While the Juventus substitutes injected some much-needed energy, the decision came at the cost of taking off their two most dangerous players of the night — Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao.

In the closing stages, the match lost momentum. Tudor made a late change, swapping Daniele Rugani for Filip Kostic, but it proved too little, too late.

Milan dug in to secure a clean sheet and come away with a valuable point on the road. Leao had two late chances to snatch all three points for the Rossoneri but failed to make quality contact on both attempts.

Despite the missed penalty and the late opportunities, Milan will be left disappointed not to have won at the home ground of one of their fiercest rivals. Juventus, meanwhile, can be pleased to have held firm and taken a steady point after a hard-fought encounter.
https://football-italia.net/juventus-0-0-milan-honours-even-in-cagey/