In its final tune-up before heading out west to play in the Players Era Championship Tournament in Las Vegas, No. 22 Auburn cruised to a 112-66 win over Jackson State on Wednesday night at Neville Arena.
Wednesday night marked the second meeting between the two schools, with the only other one coming in 1988, with Auburn now leading the all-time series 2-0.
Improving to 4-1 on the season, Auburn has now won 62 consecutive non-conference home games, a streak dating back to the 2016-2017 season.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Stifling defensive display
Unlike the other SWAC opponent (Bethune-Cookman) that Auburn has played this season, Jackson State proved to be no threat on the offensive end of the floor.
The visiting Tigers came into Wednesday’s contest averaging just 58.7 points per game, and Auburn’s defense wasn’t one they were going to break out against, as it had them in a chokehold for the majority of the game.
Auburn forced Jackson State into a whopping 22 turnovers on the night and held it to its third-lowest mark of the season with just 66 points. The home Tigers suffocated Jackson State with full-court, on-ball pressure in the first half, forcing 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, more than Auburn has forced in any game this season.
The home Tigers held Jackson State to a 41% mark from the field, with only three players recording more than six points.
No Hall, no problem
Auburn’s leading scorer and the SEC’s leading scorer with 23.3 points per game, Keyshawn Hall, was held out of action on Wednesday night after suffering an ankle injury in the loss to then-No. 1 Houston on Sunday.
But Auburn had no problem putting the ball through the net against Jackson State without him.
The home Tigers scored a season-high 112 points on the night while shooting 65% from the field. Twenty-eight of Auburn’s 42 made baskets were assisted. It is the fourth time in five games that Auburn has crossed the 90-point barrier, and the first time it has surpassed the century mark.
Auburn strung together a 28-8 run over the last 9:13 in the first half and put together a handful of mini runs in the second half while, at one point, hitting nine consecutive shots from the field.
KeShawn Murphy led the Tigers with 19 points, with five other Auburn scorers reaching the double-digit threshold – Filip Jovic (18), Simon Walker (15), Elyjah Freeman (14) and Kevin Overton (13).
Physicality translates
Head coach Steven Pearl noted on Tuesday, prior to the game, that he wanted to see the same level of physicality translate over from the Houston game for the remainder of the season, and he challenged his squad to achieve that feat, starting on Wednesday night.
In the first game out, it certainly did.
Auburn held a distinct size advantage over Jackson State and notched a season-high 56 points in the paint, while holding the visiting Tigers to 30. Auburn recorded 26 points off dunks, 22 layups and shot 50% down low on Wednesday night, while securing a 30-28 advantage on the boards.
Jovic breaks out
Pearl said on Tuesday that he wanted to see Filip Jovic be more involved, offensively, on Wednesday night in the absence of Hall.
He followed suit with an Auburn career-high 18 points while shooting an efficient 8-of-10 from the floor.
Simply put, if Jovic continues to play at this level consistently, it gives Auburn, which is one of two SEC teams with six players averaging double digits, not including him, another dynamic scorer to throw at its opponents.
Walker splashes onto the scene
The fireworks began to shoot off in Neville Arena when Walker, who has been sidelined all season trying to bounce back from an offseason foot injury, waltzed on the court.
The former No. 2 player in the state of Alabama recorded five treys on five attempts and catapulted Auburn to a season-high 13 triples, all in seven minutes of action.
The Tigers will return to action next Monday at 7 p.m. against Oregon at Michelob ULTRA Arena on TruTV.
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