Auburn made easy work of South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday afternoon, blowing out the Gamecocks, 109-86, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
Sharife Cooper recorded his second double-double in his first five games for Auburn while Allen Flanigan continues to show he can be an offensive force for the Tigers.
Here are some random thoughts following the game.
- Let’s just get right to it: I know it must be difficult to call a second half when one team has a huge lead, but how Beth Mowins and Jimmy Dykes handled it was absolutely miserable. At one point, the two went 15 straight minutes without mentioning any of the action on the floor including a weird monologue by Dykes honoring everything Mowins has done for women in sports broadcasting, including for his daughter. Great, have that personal conversation somewhere else. There are players on the floor that deserve the attention.
- Another double-double for Sharife Cooper and this one was his easiest yet, having 10 points and 11 assists by the end of the first half. He finished with 16 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds. Dan Dakich has yet to comment.
- It was imperative for Auburn to finish the first half strong after what occurred on Wednesday night at Arkansas. In his postgame press conference,. Bruce Pearl acknowledged that he had his son, Steven, challenge the Tigers during the last three minutes heading into halftime. Final result? A 15-point lead.
- Flanigan continues to grow as a player and become a major producer for Auburn offensive and defensively. His 24 points led the offensive onslaught and he was 4-of-6 from the three-point line.
- JT Thor is an absolute threat in the paint. At one point, he blocked a Gamecocks shot without even jumping. His offensive game is also coming around nicely.
- Back to Cooper, he finished the game with just three turnovers. That is a sign hat he is getting even more comfortable in the game and with his teammates. A 12-to-3 assist to turnover ratio is something Bruce Pearl will absolutely take every game.
- Also on Cooper: his vision is probably the best I have seen in college basketball in some time. He sees things that aren’t even there but magically appear two seconds later.
- Give it up for Jaylin Williams who had an absolutely remarkable game in every facet. He finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting (2-of-3 from three), seven rebounds, two assists and just one turnover.
- Six more blocks on defense for the Tigers. That is becoming a huge stat to watch and something other teams will be wary of when taking the ball into the paint.
- I’m jealous of Pearl’s constant tan.
- I am not extremely superstitious but the fact I was putting together a desk chair during the entire first half when Auburn put up 57 points on the board makes me think I need to take apart the chair and do it all over again the next game. Also, it took me way too long to put the chair together and I have screws left over.
- Back to basketball. You know who has a great shooting stroke? Lior Berman. Great to see him get time off the bench and make two three-pointers.
- Final thought: any time Auburn can shoot 51.9% from beyond the three-point line, chances are Tigers fans are going to come away happy.