AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn (8-2) defeated USC (5-5) 91-75 on Sunday afternoon in Neville Arena. The Tigers dominated the game from start to finish in the rout, leading by as much as 23 points in the second half.
USC may have the star players, but it was Auburn's depth that stole the show. As usual, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl played 11 players against USC. Every player scored, and five scored double digits in the game.
"Having some balance is important," Pearl said. "Like you know, for USC, obviously Boogie (Ellis) is Boogie. It's gonna be Boogie Ellis. He's the guy, and he had his night, you know, but for us, you never know who it's gonna be."
The Tigers depth allows them to play with great effort on both ends of the floor, and on the defensive end, it was especially noticeable on Sunday. They had seven blocks and forced 15 USC turnovers.
"We know we have a bench that can come in and just keep doing the same thing, Auburn forward Jaylin Williams said. "And then while we're on the bench, we can get our breath and just keep doing it continuously."
USC's guards are the strength of their team, and Auburn knew it would be a great challenge to defend them. Star point guard Isaiah Collier for USC started the game off hot, scoring seven of their first nine points. He helped give USC the lead, 9-7, with just over 15 minutes left in the first half.
"We knew we were playing against a great point guard in Isaiah Collier," Pearl said.
Auburn, however, would take the lead and never look back. Everyone played a role in Auburn's dominating performance. Auburn's starting point guard, Aden Holloway, was not afraid to face off against the potential number one pick in next year's NBA Draft. He finished with 15 points, shooting 4-7 from the three-point line in the game.
"Yeah, but does it matter? No, the only thing that matters is getting the win, and that's the whole focus going into it," Holloway said after the game when asked about playing against the stars at USC.
Along with Holloway, Dylan Cardwell had a big game. He finished the day with 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and three steals.
"That's probably the best Dylan has played on both ends of the floor," Pearl said.
Johni Broome was not to be outdone by his fellow teammate, though. He added 11 points of his own to go along with four blocks. Jaylin Williams also had a solid day for the Tigers. He continued his hot streak by notching 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
Denver Jones scored double digits as well, hitting a crucial three late in the second half after USC mounted a 7-3 run.
Auburn did not completely shut down USC's stars. Boogie Ellis finished with 22 points and Collier finished with 13, but ultimately the Tigers did what they needed to do to win.
This year's Auburn team may not have had the star power or future NBA talent that USC has this season, but on Sunday afternoon, it did not matter. Auburn flexed and showed their eleven players were better than USC's stars.
Next up for Auburn is Alabama State at home on Friday night. The game will tip at 7:00 p.m. on SEC Network+ and the Auburn Sports Network.
