Feb. 22, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- If Auburn clinches the SEC over the next week-and-a-half and the players are cutting down the nets a week from Saturday following the home finale against South Carolina, they can look back to Wednesday's win over Alabama.
It was win No. 24 and helped the Tigers improve to 12-3 in the conference, but it wasn't just another win. Not when you're down two starters, Anfernee McLemore and Mustapha Heron, and you run your in-state rival out of the building with seven players. That was an Alabama team that is on course to play in the NCAA Tournament.
"It was just a tremendous team effort, and one that if we can win this championship, I think will be pretty darn historic," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game.
The Tigers still need one more win, which they could get Saturday at Florida, or a Tennessee loss to clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title, but they took a major step towards making that dream a reality Wednesday night as the magic number is now one.
Here are three takeaways from Auburn's 90-71 win.
1. `Best player on the floor'
The NBA scouts might have traveled to Auburn to see Alabama guard Collin Sexton play. He's a potential lottery pick. But he wasn't the best player on the floor Wednesday night. That recognition went to Sexton's high school teammate, Auburn point guard Jared Harper, who finished with 21 points, six assists and four steals.
"I just want to come out every game and prove that I am one of the best guards in the country and one of the best guards in the SEC," Harper said. "It doesn't matter who the matchup is. I'm looking forward to every game just to prove to everybody what I'm capable of doing."
"Well, I love his confidence," Pearl said. "And I love his game. Against South Carolina and the last time we played Alabama, he wasn't the best point guard on the floor. Tonight, he was. You can see the result. He was the best player on the floor tonight."
Harper played arguably his worst game of the season in Saturday's loss at South Carolina, but against Alabama, he was back to knocking down 3-point shots, finding his teammates and controlling the tempo. The sophomore is second in the SEC in assists (163), and he's now scored in double figures in 20 straight games.
If I had to cast my vote for SEC Player of Year tonight, I'm going with @AuburnMBB Jared Harper. He ABSOLUTELY makes them go on both ends.
-- Jimmy Dykes (@CoachJimmyDykes) February 22, 2018
2. Coming of age
With Horace Spencer and Malik Dunbar both earning the start Wednesday, that left freshmen Chuma Okeke and Davion Mitchell as the only two players off the bench. Senior Patrick Keim did come in to play defense on one possession and nearly ripped Sexton, but it was Okeke and Mitchell who played heavy minutes. And both delivered.
Okeke, in particular, took over during the second half. Playing in McLemore's spot, the 6-foot-8 big finished with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"One of our leading scorers was down, Mustapha," Okeke said. "One of our leading rebounders was down, Anfernee. I had to come in this game with an aggressive mindset and crash the boards a lot, and I had to do what I had to do to help my team win."
"The coaches kept saying to get him the ball, and we were waiting to see the matchups," added Pearl. "We were able to decide looking at who they had guys guarding, and we went at certain people. Chuma could do it at the perimeter. He could do it off the pinch post. He did it off the bounce. He was really good in the back-breaking pressure. He's just terrific. He asked me what I wanted him to do, and he's ready to step up now."
Mitchell played his usual hard-nosed defense, but he also drained 3-point shots on back-to-back possessions late in the second half to extend Auburn's lead to 13. The freshman guard finished with eight points, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes.
And though Dunbar isn't a freshman, the junior-college transfer had a career game with 14 points and seven rebounds starting in place of Heron.
3. Setting the tone early
Playing short-handed, Pearl knew his Auburn team had to come out and hit Alabama in the mouth early. But not even he could have scripted the start of Wednesday's game any better.
Spencer won the opening tip and scored on the Tigers' first possession. Then Harper and Dunbar knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, and in less than two minutes, it was 8-0, the crowd was going crazy, and Alabama coach Avery Johnson was forced to use a timeout.
"We got off to a slow start tonight," Johnson said after the game. "They jumped on us from the first play of the game and set the tone for the rest of the game."
That 8-0 lead turned into a 14-2 lead as Harper and Dunbar each connected from downtown again, and though Alabama pulled back even late in the first half, the Tide never led. It was more of the same in the second half as Auburn scored 50 points in the final 20 minutes for the 10th this season and the 8th time in SEC play.
"It's just special," Pearl said. "It's special beyond compare. This team is trying to make history. We have a long way to go, but I can't deny that what we are seeing is rare. This combination of grit and determination, resiliency, family -- it's all right here.
"Enjoy this because it doesn't happen very often."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf