AUBURN – The Auburn Tigers (8-2) picked up their third win in a row convincingly, beating the USC Trojans (5-5) 91-75 at home inside Neville Arena.
It was a back-and-forth game for the first few minutes, but the Tigers went on a run around the 16-minute mark of the first half and never let the Trojans back within five points.
From perimeter defense to getting the ball inside, a lot of things went right for Auburn.
What are the biggest takeaways from the game?
Auburn's bench shined once again
Thirty-six of Auburn's 91 points came from the bench.
Dylan Cardwell scored a career-high of 11 points and led Auburn's bench in scoring.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has talked at length about how deep this team is and that showed once again today.
Auburn did a decent job of slowing down Isaiah Collier
One of the biggest talking points coming into this game was whether or not Auburn would be able to contain USC's dynamic guard duo of Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis.
Ellis was able to play his game, leading the Trojans in scoring with 22 points and grabbing five rebounds. Auburn, however, did cause Ellis to turn the ball over five times.
Collier was a different story. Auburn limited him to 13 points, and he ended up fouling out.
Aden Holloway shined
Auburn's freshman guard had yet another solid performance.
Holloway led Auburn in scoring with 15 points, grabbed two rebounds and made six assists. He shot 5-10 from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range.
Holloway continues to become more impactful as the season goes along.
Auburn had five players score in double figures
Auburn has started to consistently generate offense from multiple directions. Five players scoring more than 10 points once again speaks to that.
Holloway led the team with 15 points, Jaylin Williams scored 14 points, Denver Jones scored 12 points, and Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell both had 11 points.
If Auburn can consistently depend on offensive production from that many directions, this team will have the opportunity to win a good amount of games this season.
Auburn took good care of the ball
Auburn turned the ball over eight times, which led to five points for USC.
USC turned the ball over 15 times, which led to 19 points for Auburn.
Taking care of the ball is essential, and Auburn has been able to do so all season.
Auburn will be back in action on Friday when it hosts the Alabama State Hornets at Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the broadcast can be found on SEC Network+.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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