Jan. 21, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" With university president Steven Leath, new athletic director Allen Greene and head football coach Gus Malzahn on hand, the Auburn basketball team put on a show in the second half of Saturday's game as the Tigers outscored Georgia, 53-25, in the final 20 minutes to run away with their 17th victory of the season.
"When we are at home and you have all five guys on the court going at the same time, it is extremely hard to beat us," junior guard Bryce Brown said. "We got the crowd into it. We are into it. Our bench is into it. Coach is into it. And we are all locked in."
The win guarantees Auburn (17-2) a winning season, and it also guarantees that the Tigers, now 5-1 in the SEC, won't finish 4-14 in conference play as some predicted.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game.
Bryce's big day
Bryce Brown has always been considered a solid defender and a marksman from long range, but when the preseason All-SEC teams were released in November, Brown's name wasn't among the 19 players who were selected.
On Saturday, Brown ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" who came in averaging 15.8 points per game ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" proved once again why he belongs on that list. The junior guard scored 28 points, including 25 in the second half, and while he made 5 of his 9 three-point attempts, he was more than just a long-range shooter. He attacked and scored at the rim, and he was also 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
"Bryce Brown has gone from being one of the best defensive guards in the league to being one of the best guards in the league," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. "It's a strong statement, and I wouldn't make it unless I thought he was getting there. He's becoming one of the best guards in the league. He can shoot at all levels. We already know how great of a defender he is. He's a great guard. He's not afraid.
"This is the most I've praised him publicly. We'll see how he handles it tomorrow. I'm very proud of the way he's developed."
Brown's 25 second-half points are the most points in a half by an Auburn player since Chris Denson scored 26 in the second half against Alabama on Jan. 30, 2014.
How Mustapha found his groove
It was a rare off-night for Mustapha Heron in Wednesday's loss to Alabama as the sophomore was held under double figures for the first time since early December. The struggles continued Saturday when he got into foul early trouble and scored just two points in the first half.
So Pearl, wanting to get one his key players back on track, drew up a play specifically for Heron to open second half.
"I went to him at halftime and told him that this upcoming time was his," Pearl said. "I wanted him to just set a screen, get a screen and shoot a three. I didn't care if it was contested or not, I wanted him to shoot it. We had to get him going. He knocked that three down, and after that he was ready to just play."
"He said he was going to come to me, so I had to knock it down," added Heron.
Heron went on to score 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a monster one-handed slam that gave Auburn its first lead since the opening minute and sent the crowd into a frenzy. He's now scored in double figures in all but three games this season.
Home-court advantage
Around 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, two hours before tipoff, Pearl got a text message from his minister that said there were a couple thousand students outside the arena waiting to get in. So the Auburn coach drove his truck over to the student entrance and greeted those waiting for the doors to open. He wanted to thank them for their support.
"That line of students was wrapped around the commons, all the way down the hill," Pearl said. "I just went down and high-fived all of the students, and they were just so excited. I just could tell that a bunch of them hadn't ever been to a game or hadn't been to many."
Find yourself a head coach who will roll up in his pick-up truck to your student entrance to welcome the thousands waiting to enter the @AUJungle. #WarEagle @coachbrucepearl @AuburnMBB pic.twitter.com/O9bp1CCPIW
- Daniel Heck (@danielfheck) January 20, 2018
That excitement carried over into the game as the Auburn fans created an environment that helped make that second-half run possible. The noise level amplified with every steal, every dunk, every three-point shot, and the players fed off the energy in the building.
"The crowd ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" that's what I dreamed about and what I came here for," Pearl said.
Immediately after the game was over, the Auburn players flocked to the exits where they greeted fans, took pictures with them and thanked them for their support.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf