No. 1 Auburn got out of another down-to-the-wire contest Wednesday night, fending off LSU with an 87-74 win in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
With the win, Auburn extends its SEC-leading winning streak to 12 and matches the best 20-game start in program history.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Auburn, again finding new ways to win
It was an odd start to this one, to say the least, as the visiting Tigers hauled in six offensive rebounds on the first possession and nine in the first two minutes of play. Auburn started 6-of-20 before Miles Kelly sparked a 17-2 Auburn run over 5:23.
Auburn shot a season-high 80 field goals, converting on 32 of them. The orange and blue Tigers hauled in a whopping 25 offensive rebounds – more than their 23 on the defensive glass – only committed nine turnovers and played suffocating defense to pull out the road win.
Aside from Broome – who we’ll get to later – Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara showed up big for the road squad with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Baker-Mazara ended his night with a career-high seven assists while adding three steals.
Smothering defensive effort
Shots weren’t falling for Auburn early on, but what kept it in the game was its season-high 15 steals and forcing LSU into 20 turnovers. It was ultimately the difference in the game.
Auburn scored 22 points off of LSU’s turnovers, who came into the contest last in the SEC in turnovers committed. 11 of the 15 steals came in the first half, and the home squad’s season-high turnovers led to Auburn shooting 29 more shots from the field.
LSU doesn’t shy away
Every time it seemed Auburn would run away – including a 17-2 run in the first half – the home squad knocked down big shots to keep it within distance until the end.
Entering the game as the worst 3-point shooting team in the league, LSU tied its conference-high with eight threes – five coming in the second half. The Bayou Bengals shot a sound 47% from the field, with the leading scorer in the SEC – since league play began – Cam Carter, going for 22 points.
Dji Bailey and Jordan Sears joined Carter in double digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Uncharacteristic start for Broome still ends in double-double
The SEC Player of the Week, Johni Broome, followed up a double-double performance against No. 6 Tennessee with another one tonight in Baton Rouge, notching 24 points and 16 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Brome’s first-half performance was nothing to boast about, as he was only 3-of-14 from the floor, scoring just six points. It was the second half in which he did most of his damage, converting on all but two shots.
It was Broome’s 12th double-double this season and 72nd of his career.
The Tigers will take to the road once more on Saturday to take on No. 23 Ole Miss. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
