Already down Austin Wiley and Samir Doughty, Auburn's eight-man rotation had its own rust to shake off.
Auburn defeated Division-II Lincoln Memorial 76-62 on Friday evening inside Auburn Arena. Although a 14-point win is usually cause for celebration, head coach Bruce Pearl was not particularly happy.
"I'm disappointed in how we played," Pearl said. "We didn't play well and Lincoln Memorial played really hard."
As they say, "live and die by the three," and while Auburn did end up winning, its accuracy from long range left much to be desired. After leading the SEC in 3-pointers made in 2017-18, Auburn struggled to find its rhythm, especially early on, and finished the game 6 for 26 (23 percent from deep).
Despite junior point guard leading Auburn with 22 points and three assists, it was the three-headed frontcourt monster of Chuma Okeke, Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemore that paced Auburn toward victory.
Usually featuring a guard-heavy gameplan, Auburn was instead able to capitalize against an undersized Railsplitters team and feed the big men down low.
Even with 6-11, 260-pound center Austin Wiley out with a foot injury, the Tigers showed depth and skill from their frontcourt players.
Primarily used as a defensive presence and hustle player in his first three years at Auburn, senior Horace Spencer was able to assert his will against the Railsplitters defense and finished the game 14 points and eight rebounds on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting night.
"I came here as a freshman and played off of strictly raw talent, I didn't have much of a skillset," Spencer said.
However, Spencer showed a variety of strong post moves that, before, weren't in his arsenal.
"I used tonight as an opportunity to work on my offensive game and go into the posts and see how players are going to play me" Spencer added.
After a gruesome injury ended his 2017-18 season, McLemore was finally able to get back on the court and, in limited minutes, the junior center was extremely effective.
Tallying 13 points (5-for-6 shooting) and six rebounds in only 18 minutes, McLemore had a strong performance considering his injury was only roughly eight months ago. Like this past year, McLemore also showed an ability to once again be Auburn's defensive anchor as he swatted two shots, a stat he led the SEC in before his injury.
Head No. 3 was sophomore forward Chuma Okeke, who, after a strong finish to the 2017-18 season, showed fans exactly why he was so highly touted out of high school.
The Atlanta native stuffed the stat sheet and did a little of everything for Pearl and the Tigers. Ending the game with 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, Okeke mad his case to be one of the most versatile Tigers this season.
He can crash the glass and deny a shot at the rim while also stretching the court and dropping dimes to his teammates. That's a skillset Pearl knows is invaluable to his team.
"I think our guys are now seeing how good (Okeke) really is and we just have to keep giving him his touches and putting him in those situations," Pearl said.
Not only did the three-headed monster of the Auburn frontcourt dominate down low but fans should expect to see a fourth head arise when Wiley comes back from injury.
Auburn opens its season on Nov. 6 against South Alabama inside Auburn Arena. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CST.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
