AUBURN, Ala. – One of the deepest teams in college basketball just got deeper.
With 11 Tigers scoring and playing at least 10 minutes, No. 13 Auburn won its 41st consecutive non-conference home game, beating Winthrop 89-65 Tuesday at Neville Arena.
"Shows you our depth and our balance," Pearl said. "Guys don't have to take possessions off. That's our strength. The depth is a great factor. It makes for a great locker room. Our key is when they're out there to be productive."
Johni Broome recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Wendell Green Jr. filled the box score with 16 points, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, four rebounds and five assists with no turnovers.
"It felt good to perform tonight," Broome said. "I just wanted to help my team win. I wanted to come out with energy at both ends."
"Wendell Green was the best player on the floor tonight," Pearl said. "He did whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to do it. That was fun to watch."
Auburn committed only eight turnovers while dishing 17 assists, and outrebounded Winthrop 53-33.
"Everybody crashed," Broome said. "We wanted to establish our dominance in the paint."
Returning from a preseason knee procedure, freshman Chance Westry made his Auburn debut, playing both guard positions in the first half and quickly scoring on a 3-point play.
"We put him in a very tough spot tonight playing three positions," Pearl said. "It was great to have him out there. He can do a lot with or without the ball. He's a good player."
In the second half Westry played a rotation at small forward, scoring five points and adding two rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes.
"It felt great," Westry said. "I was waiting to play in a game and compete with my brothers, doing what my team needs, being off the ball and being on the ball. We can get in and get out and give everything we've got while we're out there, playing their hardest, competing at both ends."
Broome dominated the first half, tallying eight points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in nine minutes, passing the 1,000-career point mark while scoring six straight for the Tigers.
Dylan Cardwell, the SEC's leading shot blocker, added four blocks, six rebounds and six points, making all three of his field goal attempts.
Auburn used a 12-0 run to build an early double-digit lead. Zep Jasper and Green made the Tigers' first two 3-point attempts. After 10 straight missed 3s, Green and K.D. Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Auburn a 39-24 lead, its largest the half.
Leading 39-26 at halftime, Allen Flanigan, Jasper and Green combined to make Auburn's first three 3-point-attempts of the second half, extending Auburn's lead to 23 points.
"It was good to see our guys knock a few shots down which I think will help their confidence," Pearl said. "The kids have been working really hard."
Newcomers Broome, Yohan Traore and Tre Donaldson accounted for all the points in an 8-0 Auburn run that gave Auburn a 31-point lead at 64-33. Traore scored 11 points.
Auburn (3-0) concludes its season-opening four-game homestand Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Neville Arena vs. Texas Southern.
"They beat Arizona State," Pearl said of Friday's opponent. "It will be another interesting preparation. Five games in 12 days. We've got to learn from the film and we've got to learn from the experience."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
WINTHROP POSTGAME NOTES>> For the third-consecutive game, Auburn went with the starting five of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (3-0).
>> With the win, Auburn improves to 6-1 in the all-time series with Winthrop. The Tigers have now won three straight in the series. Both teams last met in 2017.
>> Johni Broome recorded his 1,000th career point on a made jumper at the 17:19 minute-mark of the first half. He tallied six points, three rebounds, three blocks and one steal in the first five minutes of the ballgame. Broome finished the night with a season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds. He also added five blocked shots. It marked his second game in double figures during his Auburn career and his 36th career double-double performance.
>> The Tigers shot a season-best 46.6 percent from the floor (34-of-73) and 39.1 percent from long range (9-for-23) versus Winthrop.
>> Chance Westry made his official collegiate debut after the 14:57 media timeout in the first half. He scored his first career points (3) at the 14:22 mark on an AND1 play. Westry missed the first two games of the season recovering from arthroscopic surgery to his right knee. He ended the contest with five points, two rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes of action against Winthrop.
>> Yohan Traore turned in his first double-figure game as a Tiger with a career-high 11 points including a three-pointer against Winthrop.
>> The Auburn defense held Winthrop to a season-low 65 points including just 26 in the first half.
>> The Tigers outrebounded the Eagles, 53-33 (+20) – their largest rebound margin of the season.
>> Third-straight game in double figures for Wendell Green Jr. He registered 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field versus Winthrop. Green Jr. also dished out five of the team's 17 assists.
>> The Tigers have now won 41 consecutive non-conference games at Neville Arena. Head Coach Bruce Pearl is 51-3 at Auburn in non-conference home games.
>> It was the 26th-consecutive sell-out game at Neville Arena (9,121).
