AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn Tigers hit the century mark Wednesday night on their way to a 101-61 routing of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
After trailing for the first 2:58, the Tigers took the lead and continued to extend it until the final buzzer. A complete all-around performance highlighted by a 61% field goal percentage helped Auburn cruise to its largest conference win of the season.
The offense was clicking all night behind big point totals and stellar shooting from junior Johni Broome and graduate student Jaylin Williams. The Auburn frontcourt went a combined 16-26 from the field and 9-12 from three-point range.
After getting a question in the press conference regarding their efficient shooting night, Broome and Williams answered in unison, “Splash Bros.”
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl also acknowledged the big night from the big men, praising their ability to open up the offense.
“When you get nine three-balls from your starting frontcourt, that makes everything you might try to do offensively work,” Pearl said. “Any time you can put your bigs on the perimeter and have them have to be guarded it just opens up the lane.”
The lane was certainly open, and excellent passing and ball protection from the Tigers led to textbook feeds and finishes inside. Auburn would finish with 22 assists and only seven turnovers. Auburn point guards Tre Donaldson and Aden Holloway combined for seven of those assists without committing a single turnover.
“The fact that we scored 101 but did it with 22 assists and only seven turnovers speaks a lot,” Pearl said. “I think that we demonstrated some versatility defensively.”
Coming into the matchup, South Carolina averaged just over 10 turnovers per game. The stifling Tiger defense caused 13 turnovers and forced South Carolina to operate late in the shot clock numerous times.
Senior K.D. Johnson was again disruptive, grabbing three steals and finishing with an eye-popping 40 in the plus-minus statistic. Broome was also a force defensively, adding two blocks to round out his night.
“It’s definitely an energizer,” Broome said regarding the team’s defense. “Making plays is fun at the end of the day. Blocking shots. Getting steals. It’s fun. Especially if it’s helping our team win.”
However, the win tonight was only step one for Pearl and Auburn. Keeping themselves in the SEC title race, the Kentucky Wildcats await the Tigers on Saturday.
“This team is trying to make history,” Pearl said. “There’s no better opportunity than having Kentucky, national television, and College Gameday.”
The highly anticipated matchup between the Tigers and Wildcats is set to tip off at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday and can be seen live on ESPN or listened to on the Auburn Sports Network.
