Back in Neville Arena for the first time in nearly three weeks, No. 2 Auburn cruised to a 98-54 victory over Richmond on Sunday.
With the win, the Tigers boast a 58-consecutive home game winning streak against non-conference opponents.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Phenomenal defensive effort
The Tigers displayed an exceptional defensive effort on Sunday, holding Richmond to just 54 points—the second-lowest scoring outing from an opponent this season.
Richmond's star player DeLonnie Hunt was held in check, scoring just 10 points, which is the second-lowest-scoring outing for him this season. Coming into the game, Hunt was 25th nationally in scoring with 20 points per game and had scored 26 points in four of the Spiders’ four games thus far.
Richmond shot just 27.1% from the field, but the Tigers forced 15 turnovers on the day, which turned into 18 points on the other end of the floor.
Group effort offensively
Auburn entered the game as the No. 1 team in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and the Tigers' 98 points scored were the second most this season.
Auburn had one of its best games from beyond the arc, pouring in 13 3-pointers on a 43.3% clip. Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford led the way each with four threes, and Denver Jones chipped in an additional three made shots from deep.
The Tigers had six players that were +20 in +/- ratio with Johni Broome leading the way at +29 in 23 minutes played. The Tigers also poured in 23 assists, marking the fourth time this season they have had 20+ assist games.
Jahki Howard returns
Freshman wing Jahki Howard saw his first bit of meaningful playing time on Sunday since the season opener against Vermont and didn’t miss a beat.
The high-flying Howard made a splash as soon as he stepped on the floor with three dunks within his first five minutes of action. He finished with 13 points in 21 minutes played.
Bruce Pearl mentioned before the game on the AU Sports Network that he would try to get Howard more involved in the rotation with SEC play approaching, and if Howard continues to play like that, it gives the Tigers another lethal weapon in their backcourt.
Three-headed monster
The trio of Kelly, Pettiford and Chad Baker-Mazara has shown up big for Auburn this season. They are shooting 44.7% (51-of-114) from 3-point range this season and all three are shooting at least 41% from distance as Baker-Mazara is shooting 48.4% (15-of-31), Kelly 45.5% (20-of-44) and Pettiford 41% (16-of-39).
They led the Tigers in scoring in Sunday’s win with Kelly and Pettiford leading the way with 15 and Baker-Mazara pouring in 13.
The Tigers will have nearly a week off before returning to action next Saturday in the annual Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta against Ohio State. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN2.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.\
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