Going from hosting Bronny James and the USC Trojans on an Sunday afternoon to hosting the Alabama State Hornets on a Friday night three days before Christmas is about as opposite as it gets into terms of hype.
And at the start of Friday night’s game, the Tigers showed signs of that as they were slow to shake awake against the Hornets.
Fortunately for Auburn and the respectable home crowd that filed into Neville Arena, Bruce Pearl’s squad eventually found its groove and worked its way to a 82-62 win over Alabama State, giving Auburn its fourth consecutive win and improving the Tigers to 9-2 on the season.
Here are takeaways from Friday’s in-state matchup.
Turnovers plague Auburn early
Coming into Friday night’s game, Auburn had taken care of the basketball.
Against Indiana on Dec. 9, Auburn committed just three turnovers. Against UNC-Asheville on Dec. 13, the Tigers coughed up the ball just seven times. And against UNC on Dec. 17, the number was eight.
However, on Friday night against Alabama State, Auburn committed nine turnovers in less than 11 minutes of play as the Tigers couldn’t manage to keep possession of the basketball in a sloppy start to the game.
Auburn finished the night having coughed up the ball 18 times, with Johni Broome being the biggest liability having tallied four turnovers on his own.
Come the second half of play, Auburn’s turnover spree slowed as the Tigers gave it up just six times, while forcing the Hornets to commit seven second-half turnovers.
Pair of Tigers reach 1,000-point milestone in one night
Needing just five points entering the night, it felt likely that Auburn senior KD Johnson would finished the evening having scored his 1,000th career point. And with his second made three pointer of the evening coming with 4:01 to play in the first period, Johnson did.
However, as the Neville Arena crowd cheered as Johnson came off the floor following the significant shot, it was evident by Johnson’s reaction that he hadn’t a clue that he’d just scored his 1,000th point. Once it set in, however, Johnson accepted the embraces and celebratory gestures from his teammates and eventually waved to the Auburn crown with a grin.
In the case of fifth-year Jaylin Williams, however, it felt less likely that he could reach the 1,000-point mark Friday night as he entered the matchup still needing 17 points.
After scoring 12 in the first half, however, it began to feel like it was well in-reach for Williams, who became Auburn’s winningest player in program history earlier this season.
Williams eclipsed the 1,000-point mark with 7:29 to play as Tre Donaldson offered him a quick dish on a drive through the lane, followed by a tough finish at the rim for Williams. On the very next trip down the floor, Williams polished off his 20-point night with an alley-oop dunk, which was also assisted by Donaldson.
Auburn wins battle of the boards, holds ASU under 40% shooting
Auburn’s effort on the glass and its defensive performance made up for the Tigers’ slow start against the Hornets Friday night.
At the half, Auburn had out-rebounded Alabama State 23-10, of which 16 came on the defensive side of the floor. The Hornets were held to just one second-chance bucket in the opening period of play.
Come the game’s end, the Tigers had outrebounded the Hornets 41-27 with Johni Broome leading the way with 13, while he also scored 16 points — good for his fifth double-double of the season and a quiet one, at that.
Defensively, Auburn held Alabama State to a less-than-impressive shooting performance as the Hornets finished the night just 39.3% from the field. Friday was the sixth game of the season in which Tigers held their opponent under 40% from the field.
