'It's right in front of us' - Tiger Trio as Auburn basketball's Showdown Saturday nears

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Feb. 28, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Win one more game, be SEC champions for the third time in program history.

That's the opportunity for the No. 14 Auburn Tigers (24-6, 12-5), who enter the season's final Saturday tied for the Southeastern Conference lead with Tennessee.

Arkansas defeated Auburn 91-82 Tuesday in Fayetteville.

"Even in this game when we made a couple of runs to close the gap, you weren't surprised because that's what we've been doing all year long," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "Arkansas was able to withstand those runs."

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers' final SEC road game.

Heron Heats Up

With a game-high 28 points, tying his SEC career-high, Mustapha Heron continued his late-season scoring surge. In Auburn's past nine games, Heron is averaging 20.4 points per game.

Heron also grabbed eight rebounds against the Razorbacks, second to Chuma Okeke's 10.

Auburn's leading scorer averaging 16.7 points per game, Heron has reached the 20-point mark 14 times in his career, including eight this season and five in the past nine games.

3s and Frees

Auburn shot 91.2 percent from the free-throw line, making 31 of 34 attempts. Jared Harper was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line, part of a 20-point game.

The 31 makes represented a season-high. With 581 free throws this season, Auburn is in position to break the Tigers' record of 606 set in 2014-15. Auburn hit seven 3-pointers against Arkansas, setting a single-season program record with 293. Last year's team held the mark with 289.

Showdown Saturday

It all comes down to this. A win over South Carolina Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and the Tigers can cut down the nets and party like it's 1999 (and 1960, Auburn's previous SEC championship seasons).

After the game against the Gamecocks, Auburn fans will be following No. 16 Tennessee's 5 p.m. home game against Georgia.

An Auburn win and a Tennessee loss would give the Tigers the outright SEC crown, while Auburn and the Vols would be co-champs if they both win or both lose on Saturday.

"These kids have been amazing. They've been absolutely amazing," Pearl said. "To look at that group right there and go, 'That team is tied for first place in the league.'

"These kids have continued to find a way all year long. I've got confidence we can pull this thing off because we've done it all year long."

The Tigers are 14-1 at home this season. Auburn's confidence, says Harper, remains undiminished despite back-to-back road losses.

"It's still high," Harper said. "It's still the highest it's ever been. This is a tough conference. They're tough environments. We're trying to get better. The same goals we had from day one are still there going into our last game against South Carolina. We want to put ourselves in a position to win the conference. That was our goal this whole season and it's right in front of us."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer