AUBURN, Ala. – It was the Jaylin and Johni show in Neville Arena on Wednesday night. Auburn's frontcourt duo combined for 44 points to lead the 13th-ranked Tigers to a 101-61 win over No. 11 South Carolina in a battle between two of the SEC's top teams.
Following the game, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome coined a new nickname for themselves after combining to shoot 9-of-12 from beyond the arc.
"Splash Bros," the two said in unison to open their postgame press conference.
"Once we see the first one go in, we've got that confidence and we've got our coaches' and teammates' confidence," Broome added. "It's just going to the hot hand and making plays to help win the game."
"When you get nine 3-balls from your starting frontcourt, it kind of makes everything you try to do offensively work," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "That makes you hard to guard."
Led by Williams (23) and Broome (21), everything was working for Auburn on Wednesday as the Tigers put up 100 points against one of the SEC's better defensive teams. They shot 61 percent from the field (36-of-59) and 60 percent from deep (12-of-20) – both season highs – and only turned it over seven times.
The 40-point victory was Auburn's largest over a ranked opponent in program history.
"Tonight, after a slow start, we made shots and played with great freedom," Pearl said. "The other thing, too, that's important is we also disrupted them offensively. We turned them over, we were aggressive, and made plenty of offense out of our defense."
"They played some inspired, determined, intentional basketball," South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris said after the game. "You've got to give them a lot of credit."
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but Williams answered with a 3-pointer and Auburn responded with an 18-3 run over the next five minutes to pull ahead.
Williams had the hot hand in the first half, scoring 16 of his 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Later in the half, the senior knocked down three straight 3-pointers to ignite another 17-6 run over the half's final five minutes and give Auburn a 50-28 lead at the break.
"I feel like they didn't really force me to do anything," Williams said. "I just felt like I had the right looks. We prepared for those looks, and I just had to knock them down."
Johni Broome took charge in the second half with 14 points and made all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 21 points for the game and has now scored in double figures in 16 straight games. His four 3-pointers were a new career best.
Williams and Broome have now scored 20 or more points in the same game in back-to-back games in Neville Arena. They did it last Wednesday against Alabama.
Tre Donaldson and Chad Baker-Mazara also scored in double figures for Auburn against South Carolina with 11 and 10 points respectively.
It was the third time in the last four games for Donaldson who added four assists and two steals with no turnovers. Baker-Mazara, who was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, has now scored 10 or more points in seven of the team's 12 SEC games this season. One of his four makes came at the end of the first half as he drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Senior center Dylan Cardwell scored eight points off the bench and led the Tigers in both assists (5) and blocks (4). His five assists were a new career high.
With the win, Auburn (20-5, 9-3) is now tied with South Carolina (21-4, 9-3) for second place in the SEC with six league games remaining.
The Tigers will be back in Neville Arena on Saturday to host No. 22 Kentucky at 5 p.m. Auburn will also welcome ESPN's College GameDay back to the Plains for the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years.
"We talk about trying to make history, and this team is trying to make history," Pearl said. "There's no better opportunity than having Kentucky, national television, College GameDay. It will be a great weekend. We work all year long for these opportunities."
SOUTH CAROLINA POSTGAME NOTES
» No. 13 Auburn defeated No. 11 South Carolina 101-61 at Neville Arena on Wednesday night. The 40-point win marked the Tigers' largest margin of victory in program history over a ranked opponent, surpassing No. 9 Auburn's 97-66 victory (+31) over No. 8 Mississippi State on Jan. 3, 1959, in Auburn. It was also the largest margin of victory by either team in the 51-game series between the Tigers and Gamecocks. The 101 points were the fourth-most against a ranked opponent in program history.
» With the win, Auburn now leads 31-19 in the all-time series versus South Carolina including 14-8 in games played in Auburn and 7-1 at Neville Arena. The Tigers have won seven straight games over the Gamecocks with the last six by double digits. The seven straight wins over South Carolina is Auburn's longest winning streak in the series – topping the Tigers' six-game win streak from 1992-96. It matches South Carolina's seven-game win streak versus Auburn from 1935-71 – the longest winning streak by either team in the 50-game series history.
» Bruce Pearl is now 21-6 lifetime versus South Carolina in his coaching career, including 9-4 at Auburn. He is now 12-1 in home games played against South Carolina, including 5-1 at Neville Arena. Pearl is 2-0 against second-year Gamecocks' head coach Lamont Paris as Auburn's 81-66 vicotry at South Carolina last season was the only previous meeting between the two head coaches.
» Auburn improved to 20-5 on the season, securing the 15th 20-win season in the program's 118-year history and the sixth 20-win season in the last seven seasons. It's the eighth time Auburn has won 20 of its first 25 games in a season, including the fourth since the 2017-18 season.
» Auburn is 21-28 against ranked opponents under Bruce Pearl. including 15-6 at Neville Arena. The Tigers have won 17 of their last 29 games against Top 25 opponents. Auburn is 14-2 in their last 16 games against ranked opponents at Neville Arena with four straight victories. The Tigers are 3-1 against Top 25 opponents this season including 3-0 in league play and at Neville Arena.
» AU is 113-35 as a ranked team, including 67-4 at Neville Arena under Coach Pearl. The Tigers are 13-9 in ranked matchups under Pearl and 9-1 at Neville Arena. Auburn has won 12 of their last 17 games between ranked teams. The Tigers have won eight straight top 25 matchups at home.
» Auburn is 13-0 in Neville Arena this season and 6-0 in SEC play. The Tigers have won 16 straight home games dating back to last season, which is the sixth-longest home-court winning streak in program history. All but two of the victories during the streak have been by double digits. Three of Auburn's six all-time longest home-court winning streaks have come since 2019.
» Tonight was the 52nd consecutive sellout at Neville Arena (9,121).
» Auburn set season highs by shooting 61.0 percent (36-of-59) from the floor and 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from 3-point range. The Tigers shot 17-of-19 from the free-throw line, which was their second-best mark of the season. Auburn's field-goal percentage was its best since shooting 61.8 percent (42-of-68) against Winthrop on Nov. 24, 2017, and its best in an SEC game since shooting 61.1 percent (33-of-54) at Arkansas on Feb. 17, 2016. Auburn's 3-point field goal percentage was also its best since shooting 60.0 percent 12-of-20 at Alabama last season.
» The Tigers are 19-1 this season when leading at halftime.
» Auburn recorded 22 assists on 36 made field goals, which is tied for the fourth-most assists in a game this season and is the second-most in an SEC game behind the Tigers' 25 assists at Ole Miss on Feb. 3. Ten different players recorded an assist for Auburn in the win. The Tigers are now 9-0 when recording at least 20 assists this season.
» Auburn committed only seven turnovers against South Carolina. The Tigers are 10-0 when registering single-digit turnovers in a game this season including 4-0 in SEC play.
» Auburn outscored South Carolina 39-1 in bench points. The Tigers have outscored their opponents' bench in all but one game this season, including the last 18 contests. They are 20-4 when outscoring their opponent in bench points. It was the 10th time Auburn has outscored an opponent by at least 20 bench points this season, including six times in SEC play. In 12 SEC games, Auburn has outscored its opponents in bench points, 405-173 (33.75-14.42).
» Auburn blocked six shots on the night. The Tigers have blocked at least five shots in 21 of 25 games this season, including 16 of the last 17 games. The Tigers are 18-3 when they block at least five shots this season. Dylan Cardwell led Auburn with four blocks on the night, giving him 141 blocks for his career, which is tied with Chris Morris (1984-88) for eighth in program history.
» Auburn placed five players in double figures led by Jaylin Williams' 23 points (16 in the first half) and Johni Broome's 21 points (14 in the second half). It was Williams' eighth 20-point game of the season including five in SEC play. He finished the night 8-of-11 from the floor, 5-of-7 from long range and 2-of-2 from the foul line. He also added two rebounds, two steals and one assist in the win. Williams, who played in his 132nd career game on Wednesday night, moved past Bryce Brown into second all-time on the school's career games played list, just two games behind Frankie Sullivan's school record. He became the 25th player in program history to score at least 1,200 career points, moving past K.T. Harrell for 25th on Auburn's career scoring list on Wednesday night, finishing the night with 1,217 career points to date.
» Broome, who scored in double figures for the 16th-straight game, was 8-of-15 from the floor including a career-best four 3-pointers on five attempts. He also contributed two rebounds and two blocks on the night. It was his 17 multi-block game of the season including seven straight. Broome finished the night with 137 blocks in his two-year Auburn career, which is 10th-most in program history.
» For the second time this season, Williams and Broome scored 20 points in the same game after Williams scored 26 points and Broome went for 24 points in Auburn's 99-81 win over No. 16 Alabama on Feb. 7.
» Tre Donaldson scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games and the ninth time this season after scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Donaldson recorded four assists and two steals and had zero turnovers on the night.
» Chad Baker-Mazara chipped in 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including 2-of-2 from long range in the win over South Carolina. He finished the night with five rebounds and three assists. Baker-Mazara has scored in double figures in seven of Auburn's 12 SEC games and 13 times overall this season.
» K.D. Johnson had a game-high three steals against South Carolina. It was the fourth time this season Johnson has had at least three steals in a game. He scored nine points on the night on 2-of-3 shooting, including the 100th 3-pointer of his Auburn career, and was 4-of-4 from the foul line. He also had two rebounds and one assist.
» The Tigers recorded 10 steals on the night, the sixth time they have registered double-digit steals in a game this season and the fourth time in SEC play.
