1 BIG THING: OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Just how good was Auburn on Saturday? The Tigers shot 51.9 percent (40 of 77) from the field, 51.9 percent (14 of 27) from beyond the arc and 93.8 percent (15 of 16) from the free throw line. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, only one other time has an Auburn team shot better than 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3 and 90 percent from the line – Jan. 26, 2019 at Mississippi State.
With 109 points, it was not only a program record for an SEC road game – it was also the first time the Tigers hit the century mark in any SEC game since beating Alabama, 102-61, in 1999.
Five different players scored in double figures for Auburn, led by Allen Flanigan's 24 points, but it's no secret who the catalyst is behind this offense. It's point guard Sharife Cooper.
In five games since Cooper made his debut, the Tigers are second in the SEC in points per game (86.6), third in scoring margin (+8.4) and second in field-goal percentage (47.6 percent). The freshman leads the league with nine assists per game in that stretch and is second with 21.2 points per game.
"There's a reason why he was the No. 1 recruit that Auburn had ever signed," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Expectations were high. We didn't complain a lot when he wasn't available because he wasn't available. But can you imagine me, knowing what's not playing?
"But I didn't have him. So we had to coach the guys we had, and I was proud of those guys for going 6-2 in the non-conference, knowing what he does to us, what he does to everybody else."
W.
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) January 24, 2021
Continue to get better. 💪#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/908A4JrPja
3 QUESTIONS WITH DYLAN CARDWELL
Q: What has stood out the most from your first year playing college basketball?
Cardwell: Really just how blessed I am to be at Auburn. I'm so thankful I ended up here because I could've gone anywhere in the nation, but things would not have worked out if I had chosen a different school. That's what has stood out the most to me – how God brought me here and how my journey has led me to Auburn.
Q: You definitely bring the energy. Where does that come from?
Cardwell: It just comes from the passion, the love for the game. I've always loved basketball. Just being able to play at one of the highest levels, it just seems unreal sometimes. So it's just the excitement of being D-1 basketball. The excitement of playing basketball in general gets me hyped.
Q: What do you think that energy does for your teammates?
Cardwell: I feel like it gets them going. Sometimes we might go stale where we don't score for a certain amount of minutes. The energy, it's like putting a battery on our back. It allows us to go on a run sometimes, and it gives our team a confidence boost. The fans get into it. I feel like what always gets me going is when Devan (Cambridge) get a dunk from Sharife (Cooper). Devan's lobs get me hyped. So I think we all feed off each other's energy, but overall, I just feel like we're a fun team to watch and a fun team to play with.
1 KEY STAT: CASHING IN THE FREEBIES
Ask Bruce Pearl about Auburn's recent success from the free throw line, and he'll put it on you if the Tigers struggle from the line their next game. But good luck jinxing this group.
After making 15 of 16 free throws at South Carolina on Saturday, Auburn is tops in the SEC since the first of the year at 78.2 percent (104 of 133). The only other team shooting above 75 percent in that span is Kentucky (75.2). The Tigers also rank second in the conference with 104 free throws made in 2021.
Flanigan, in particular, has been money from the charity stripe. The sophomore is shooting 80.7 percent on the season, seventh-best in the SEC, but over his last seven games, he's missed a total of two free throws (23 of 25). He's one of five Tigers shooting better than 70 percent on the season.