The Auburn Tigers needed a big win after a tough week last week where they dropped two straight games on the road.
Back at Neville Arena, the Tigers defeated the winless SEC Vanderbilt Commodores by 27 points, 81-54. It was Auburn's second win against Vanderbilt this season, after defeating the Commodores 80-65 in Nashville on Jan. 17.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 17-4 overall and 6-2 in the SEC.
Jaylin Williams led the Tigers' offense, scoring 21 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the 3-point line. Defensively, it was a monster game for Joni Bloom, who had an incredible five blocks, as well as 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Sharpshooter 🎯😤 pic.twitter.com/B48iTJ9t5e
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 1, 2024
https://t.co/764tI1b8zY pic.twitter.com/1tr3lpOVID
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 1, 2024
A big man from the back of the line!! ️ 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Keb0MhXXeJ
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 1, 2024
Denver Jones was also sensational, scoring 19 points on just 11 shots and making 4 of 8 3-pointers. Chad Baker-Mazara added 11 points off the bench.
The Tigers, currently 6-2 in the conference, are tied for second place with South Carolina, one game behind Alabama, but currently hold the tiebreaker due to the Tide's win in the head-to-head matchup in Tuscaloosa. .
After the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl spoke about the competitive nature of the league and how important this win was for the Tigers.
“It gets serious come Saturday. We look at the schedule, we look at the league as a whole, Florida beat Kentucky in overtime, they're playing really well. Georgia is going to play really well tonight. It didn’t go well, but South Carolina is playing well as well,” Pearl said.
“Vanderbilt is a good team defensively and really good offensively. I think we wore them down and our half-court defense was outstanding.”
Auburn will have a challenging test in its next game Saturday, when it returns to action against Ole Miss, which is 18-3, but at 5-3 it is just one spot away from a tie for fourth place in the conference. It will be an important game for the Rebels. A game behind Auburn.
The game will be played this Saturday at 5pm CST from Oxford.
Michael Brauner is a senior sports analyst and contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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