LSU forward Ben Simmons drove down the right side of the lane and met Auburn forward Horace Spencer at the rim.
Spencer won the battle, swatting Simmons’ shot out of bounds. As Simmons walked back to the bench for the media timeout, Auburn forward Cinmeon Bowers bumped him in the chest.
Simmons did not take kindly to the gesture, glaring at Bowers for a moment before the officials separated the two.
The brief altercation was all it took to put LSU's star freshman in his zone.
Up to that point, Simmons had made only one of his four shots and missed both of his free throws. He went on to make seven of his nine shots.
Simmons, who will likely be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft in June, scored 21 points in his lone career trip to Auburn Arena.
“I just wanted to be more aggressive and attack the rim more,” Simmons said. “I know usually when I take shots, they fall.”
Most of Simmons’ shots did just that Tuesday night. He displayed his full arsenal — thundering dunks, crafty post moves and a sweet stroke from 15 feet. Simmons shot nine of 15 from the field, exceeding his average of 56 percent, which is second in the SEC.
“We never really did wall him off. He was able to go by and get to the rim and get too close,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “I thought we could have done a better job defensively with him — building that wall and getting him to take contested shots.”
Simmons also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and fell three assists short of his first college triple-double, which he said he was “aware” of down the stretch.
“Obviously Ben Simmons is a great player,” Pearl said. “You could see why he is so effective and such a valuable player — because he can score, he can create, he can finish. He makes everybody else better around him.”
Simmons was the first No. 1 overall recruit to play in Auburn since Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel in 2012, and Auburn players and coaches alike appreciated his talent, which college basketball will likely enjoy for only one season.
“It’s an honor to play against him, but at the same time, of course you want to go at him, as well,” said Auburn guard Bryce Brown. “It was pretty good experiencing that…He can really do a lot of things in this game.”
“Ben’s always aggressive, and he gets after it,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “I think he’s done a great job of taking advantage of chance opportunities for us. When the defense gives him opportunities, especially in the open floor, he’s great at attacking.”
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