From the opening tip, Auburn was definitely back on its home floor.
The No. 7 Tigers (10-2) found their offensive stroke and cut down on the turnovers — both problem areas for the team in the last week — en route to a 93-88 bounce-back win over Murray State on Saturday evening inside Auburn Arena.
Here are the three takeaways to know:
Bryce Brown's flu game
Despite flu-like symptoms over the past 24 hours, shooting guard Bryce Brown has his groove back.
Brown scored 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor — an outing that would normally be considered sub-par for the standout senior. But Brown had been painfully cold from the floor in the past two games, shooting a combined 2-for-13 against UAB and NC State. He failed to hit from downtown in either of those games.
"Bryce Brown was heroic tonight," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "Bryce Brown had a 101 fever this morning, and we was on IVs... but that's what a senior does. Without Bryce Brown on (Ja) Morant, Murray State comes in here and beats us."
Brown is epitome of a streaky shooter, and his streaks sometimes last games at a time. His improvements highlighted Auburn's 8-for-17 second-half clip from 3-point range against a defense that entered the contest ranked first nationally in defending the deep ball.
Second-half surge
After the intermission, it appeared Murray State had made all the necessary adjustments.
Led by NBA Draft shoo-in Ja Morant (game-high 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists) and his craftiness in the halfcourt, the Racers hit their first four 3-pointers of the second half and grabbed a 6-point lead four minutes into the half.
Thanks to made shots from Auburn guard Samir Doughty, the Tigers tied it up, and snapped from there.
Auburn's offense embraced the fast-paced approach Murray State invited. Jared Harper dished out 10 assists, with most coming in the open floor in transition.
The offensive improvements allowed Auburn to settle into its efficiency from the wings. Auburn made 13 3-pointers after just nine in its past two games combined, getting scorers Doughty (20), Harper (12), Brown and Okeke (17) into double digits.
Doughty's 20 points (6 for 7 from the floor) are his most in an Auburn uniform, and second only to his college career-high of 23 points — two seasons ago at VCU.
As explosive as the Tigers' offense was, the defense may have been better. Auburn held Murray State to three field goals in 11 minutes of play at one point in the second half. The Racers turned it up, however, in the final few minutes, using a 12-0 run in the final two minutes to get within five with under 19 seconds left.
Austin Wiley starts
Those shots fell in the second half, but in the first half, it was Austin Wiley who was the offensive centerpiece. The junior center made his first start in 654 days, tallying 17 points and 10 boards for his second career double-double (Jan 24, 2017, vs. South Carolina).
"Per minutes played, Austin's got some tremendous numbers," Pearl said. "You can see as he gets into better shape, our guys do a better job of utilizing him on the inside. It's a great weapon.
We're understanding how to utilize him. He's earned it. We had some advantages on the inside that I wanted to get to right away.”
The start opened up interesting offensive sets for the fast-paced Tigers. Auburn isn't a halfcourt team, so looks to Wiley came in transition. The big man also showed nifty moves in the post against a Murray State frontcourt that had enough size to out-rebound Auburn 35-32.
The frontcourt bench also provided efficient defensive production for the Tigers. Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemore both drew two charges apiece.
Auburn returns to the Auburn Arena hardwood in a week as it hosts North Florida next Saturday.
"I'm OK," Pearl said of where his team is at this point in the season. "We're not a top-10 team right now... there's a very high ceiling for this team. We're not there yet."
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
