Looking to rebound from a midweek road loss to Missouri, Auburn weathered multiple stretches without its leading scorer and earned its second SEC win Saturday, taking down South Carolina 71-67 at Neville Arena.
Auburn extended its winning streak to 10 games over the Gamecocks, marking the first time Auburn has recorded a double-digit win streak over an SEC opponent since recording 12 in a row over Georgia from 1975 to 1980.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Hall sits with early fouls
After an off night scoring the basketball in Auburn’s loss to Missouri, Keyshawn Hall entered Saturday eager to rediscover his scoring prowess.
Instead, the southpaw forward managed just two points in nine minutes before a string of three turnovers – the last leading to his third foul of the half – sent him to the bench for the remainder of the first stanza.
It led to Auburn’s lowest-scoring half of the season (30 points), with the Tigers shooting 33% from the floor (10-of-30). The Tigers’ display of aggressive defense and South Carolina’s own offensive woes – 25% with seven makes from the floor – led to a 6-point Auburn lead at the break.
Hall picked up a fourth foul with over 10 minutes left to play and finished his night with eight points on a 2-of-7 clip from the floor, marking the first time this season he has not reached double figures.
Jovic, the one-man wrecking crew
Hall went out at the 11:28 mark in the first half – and did not return until there was 15:45 left to play – and it was Filip Jovic that took charge of the Tigers’ scoring efforts in Hall’s absence.
Entering Saturday, Jovic owned a 10-of-11 clip from the field in SEC play with seven consecutive makes. That streak ended at 11 today, but Jovic continued to play at a high clip as he recorded a season-high 23 points on a 9-of-12 clip from the floor in 30 minutes of action.
Over the course of five league games – and playing just seven minutes against Texas A&M after suffering a knee injury – Jovic is averaging 9.6 points and is second on the squad in rebounding with 46 total boards, while leading in offensive rebounding.
Auburn controlled the interior
Much like last weekend against Arkansas, Auburn owned the paint with a plus-16 advantage in points in the paint.
After last week’s 48-point showing down low against the Razorbacks, Auburn tallied 42 points on Saturday with an 59% clip from the painted area. It marked the seventh time this season the Tigers recorded 40-plus points down low, with all but one resulting in a win.
Auburn shot 59% from inside the arc, scoring 42 of its 71 total points from 2-point range. It tallied 10 points on dunks and 22 on layups, but only six in transition.
Worst 3-point showing of the season
Things started positively for Auburn when Tahaad Pettiford buried a triple from the top of the key to ignite the Tigers’ scoring efforts.
Auburn then went on to miss 17 straight 3-pointers – every shot attempted after Pettiford’s three to open until Kevin Overton netted one with under a minute to play – for its worst shooting performance from deep this season. The next-lowest mark came against Oregon in the Players Era Festival, when Auburn went 5-of-23 from deep but walked away with a double-digit win.
Auburn will travel to the SJB Pavilion on Tuesday to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
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