No. 16 Tigers aim to bounce back at South Carolina

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 16 Tigers will look to get back on track when they hit the road Tuesday night at South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.

Despite nearly completing a thrilling comeback on Saturday, Auburn fell to No. 12 Kentucky 82-80. The Tigers, however, have responded well following a loss this season as they are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents by 12.0 points per game in those instances.

"The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what you're going through, it's what you're going to do about it," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I give those guys credit. I give my team credit for being able to bounce back after a loss at Ole Miss. Now we're faced with trying to bounce back with two road games."

The first of those road games is against a team that is just one game out of first place in the SEC standings in South Carolina. The Tigers and Gamecocks met twice last season, the latter of which secured Auburn's third league championship in program history and first since 1999.

Pearl and the Tigers know they aren't defending a championship, but rather looking for improvement this time around.

"I have hope because I think we can be a better team than we were last year, regardless of what the record might say. That's what we're working on."

The game is set to tip at 5:31 p.m. CT from Colonial Life Arena. Rod Bramblett and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will also be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Andy Kennedy on the call.

Player to watch: Bryce Brown

Senior guard Bryce Brown is making the most of his final SEC season with the Tigers. He is the only player in the conference to average over 20 points per game (22.0) and has scored at least 20 points in three of the first four league contests. Brown is fifth among active players in the country with 303 career 3-pointers, 176 ahead of the next-highest in the SEC (John Petty of Alabama with 127).

Inside the series: South Carolina

Auburn leads its all-time series with South Carolina 24-18. The Tigers have the same record in games played in Auburn and games played at South Carolina with an 11-8 mark in both locations. Auburn holds a 4-1 advantage at Auburn Arena and has a 6-3 edge at Colonial Center. The series is tied 2-2 in games played at neutral sites, the Tigers lead 2-1 in SEC Tournament games.

The two teams split a pair of games last season with each winning on its home court. The Gamecocks won the first meeting 84-75 in Columbia. Auburn returned the favor with a 79-70 victory at Auburn Arena to clinch the Tigers' third regular-season SEC championship in program history on the last day of the regular season.

Turning over the opponent

Auburn is third nationally, and first among power conference teams, forcing 19.5 turnovers per game. The Tigers have forced at least 20 turnovers seven times this season. Auburn is forcing an average of 21.1 turnovers per game at home (211 in 10 home games). Auburn is averaging 13.2 turnovers and is second in the country with a plus-6.4 turnover margin. The Tigers are outscoring their opponents 25.6-11.5 on points off turnovers (435-196). Auburn has scored at least 20 points off turnovers in all but five games this season. The Tigers have scored 30 points off turnovers seven times and topped the 40-point plateau for the first time in their last nonconference game with 41 points off 33 North Florida turnovers, while setting a school record for turnovers forced.