Auburn rolls over South Carolina for first SEC Tournament win since 2018-19

Auburn blew the doors off South Carolina in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament on Friday, winning 86-55 for its largest win since the last time it played South Carolina.

Friday’s game followed the same formula as that Valentine’s Day drubbing. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, pummeled the Gamecocks’ defense in the painted area, kept the turnovers in check, and didn’t give up anything from the 3-point line.

The result was Auburn’s first win at the SEC Tournament since the 2018-19 season. (The 2019-20 tournament was canceled because of COVID, and the Tigers served a postseason ban the following year.) Remarkably, this was also Auburn’s 25th win by double-digits this season.

And with Tennessee falling out of the tournament in embarrassing fashion, the Tigers now stand as the favorite at most online sports betting apps to win the whole thing.

“We had a winning record on the road in the SEC this year. That’s hard to do,” coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. “We had some great neutral-site victories. That translates.”

Auburn needed no time to adjust in its opening game in Nashville. The Tigers made 5 of their first 7 shots from the field and then locked in on the other end. South Carolina, which beat Arkansas on Thursday, couldn’t buy a basket.

The Gamecocks opened 2-for-9 and finished the first half with just 7 makes on 28 attempts. The only saving grace was the free throw line, where South Carolina knocked down 10 of its 15 attempts. But the deficit was 20 points at the break thanks in no small part to turnovers.

South Carolina gave it away 7 times in the opening half. That directly led to 14 Auburn points. The Tigers had a 24-8 advantage in the paint at the break, setting the stage for a fistfight that South Carolina never rose to meet.

As the second half went along, Auburn paired 3s with stops and pulled away.

Johni Broome finished with a team-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Chaney Johnson scored 11 while KD Johnson added 10. Eleven different Tigers scored. Nine different players made multiple shots. A complete team effort, start to finish.

On the other side, BJ Mack led the Gamecocks with 14 points, though he took 12 shots to get there and missed each of his 4 attempts from 3. Zachary Davis added 10 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists. One day after popping off for 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting in the win over Arkansas, Collin Murray-Boyles was limited to 4 points on 1-of-9 shooting.

Tennessee is the fourth 1-seed to lose in the quarterfinals of the last 6 SEC Tournaments. The door is officially open for Pearl’s squad, which entered the tournament as the most likely winner according to BartTorvik’s projections.

With Tennessee out of it, Auburn has a 57% chance to make the finals and a 39% chance to win the title. At FanDuel, Auburn is the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament, with current odds set at +105.

The Tigers will meet 9-seed Mississippi State in the first semifinal game on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.