Auburn eliminates South Carolina at SEC Tournament. Gamecocks await NCAA fate
Auburn was ready for its quarterfinals showdown Friday in the SEC Tournament, ready to double down on its dominant win over South Carolina a month ago. The Tigers proceeded to sink their teeth into everything the Gamecocks presented them.
South Carolina was bumped out of the conference bracket in its second game, falling to Auburn 86-55.
While it’s not the end of the road this year for USC (26-7), it was the end of this season’s guaranteed conference showdowns.
“They competed really hard, our guys competed,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “We just didn’t play well. We didn’t play well today. At this time of the year that means they make you go home.”
The run stops here
In a game that’s often defined by runs, South Carolina couldn’t get one going.
There are going to be a few battle scars the Gamecocks will wear come Saturday morning, both mentally and physically. This team wanted to prove a point and potentially boost its March Madness stock heading into Selection Sunday.
Auburn (25-7) simply replied, “Actually, no.”
It was shoulder-to-shoulder, bumping and pushing around down in the paint from the tip. Both teams were fighting tooth and nail to get the advantage, and Auburn got the best of the Gamecocks.
Words were exchanged, too, causing tensions to heat up. USC’s Zach Davis and Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara exchanged less-than-kind comments near the end of the first half before the two were pulled apart by their respective teammates.
“The physicality was high,” BJ Mack said. “Refs were letting us play. When you first start off, going to the basket, and they allow you to play like that, that sets the tone for the game. You’ve got to meet that.”
The Tigers put up scoring runs after runs, showing no mercy against a frustrated South Carolina team. It was nearly impossible to get a stop. To make it worse, the larger the Auburn lead got, the quieter the Bridgestone Arena became. It was like the fans had checked out and were waiting for the clock to run out.
South Carolina made history Thursday with its opening SEC win, but Auburn showed up Friday and ended the hope of a deep conference tournament run before USC had a chance to make one happen. In return, the Tigers picked up their first SEC Tournament victory since winning the title in 2019.
Sick of the rim
The Gamecocks struggled from the 3-point line in Thursday’s game against Arkansas. Against Auburn, South Carolina couldn’t get a good shot in at all.
USC never shot higher than 28% from the field and made just three 3-pointers on Friday. And it seemed like the Tigers couldn’t miss. They weaved in and out of the paint, moved around the arc and picked up rebounds with no problem, shooting 60% from the field out of the gate.
“They came out and ran their stuff,” Jacobi Wright said. “We always try to do what we try to do defensively, force them into pull-ups and floaters, but they hit shots today.”
The Tigers had eight blocks against the Gamecocks and nearly everyone was in the paint. It was as if USC had been transported back to the Tigers’ Neville Arena on Feb. 14 this year, in a 40-point regular-season blowout where every error it made was exploited.
The Tigers had 42 points in the paint to the Gamecocks’ 22, and USC scored only 16 bench points.
Matching with the Tigers
Here’s the thing: Auburn is one of the toughest matchups South Carolina has dealt with this season. While opponents such as Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi State all presented challenges, USC has the upper hand in a statistical category or two. That’s not the case against Auburn.
The Tigers have the Gamecocks’ number in every category possible, and Auburn’s playing style is drastically different than USC. Auburn relies on being agile across the court and plays with an in-your-face swagger. Something about how Auburn plays just doesn’t work for USC.
“I think that’s a fair assessment, I would have to say, just based on our personnel,” Paris said. “They’re suited to take away some of the things, and there aren’t many teams that have been able to do that, but they’re suited to take away some of the things we like that make us comfortable.”
South Carolina is still a good basketball team, and it’s a team that knows how to win games. Auburn is just not a program USC can beat without a little bit of extra luck on the Gamecocks’ side.
Other notable stats
- Mack led all scorers with 14 points, making it the third straight game he’s scored in double figures. He scored 14 points against the Tigers in the regular season as well.
- Davis’ 10 points marked the sixth time he’s reached double digits this season.
- The Gamecocks’ 28% from the field is the second-lowest field goal shooting percentage since Paris took over the program.
- Johni Broome’s 18 points extends his double-figures streak to 23 straight games, dating back to Dec. 17.
Next USC game: NCAA Tournament
South Carolina learns its next opponent during the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Show at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS. The Gamecocks will play their first-round game March 21 or 22.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:48 PM.
