Coming off of a brutal loss to Kentucky at home, the No. 16 Auburn Tigers travel to South Carolina to take on the up-and-down Gamecocks.
The last time the two teams met, Auburn overcame a 1-15 start from 3-point and rode Bryce Brown's hot-hand to clinch its first regular season SEC Championship since the 1999 season.
South Carolina has had a not-so-typical season with the team dropping games against Stony Brook, Wyoming and Wofford before starting the SEC 4-1.
In a hopeful bounce-back game for both South Carolina and Auburn, here are some players to watch and keys to victory.
Players to watch
Chris Silva (South Carolina):
Chris Silva is the do-it-all player for Frank Martin's South Carolina team as he leads the team in rebounds and is second in scoring.
He makes this South Carolina team go but has got himself into foul trouble as of late, fouling out against LSU and Vanderbilt.
Against Auburn last season, Silva recorded a double-double in both meetings and took advantage of the undersized Tigers. With Austin Wiley out, Silva is poised to post another stat line like last year, but only if he can stay out of foul trouble.
Horace Spencer (Auburn):
With Wiley out for the next coming weeks, Horace Spencer is being thrown back into a role that best suits him. Typically playing the power forward this season, coach Bruce Pearl said Spencer would be back to playing center, where he is most comfortable.
Spencer proved his willingness to step into that role after taking a hard fall late in Auburn’s loss to Kentucky, leaving the game bloodied, getting six stitches and returning to the game only minutes later.
Spencer not only showed the toughness that will be needed until Wiley returns but he also posted the team’s best plus-minus.
A.J. Lawson (South Carolina):
Lawson has sprung onto the scene as a freshman, leading the Gamecocks in scoring and minutes per game.
As a 6-foot-6-inch guard, Lawson’s length has had a sizable impact on the defensive end as well, leading South Carolina in steals per game.
Lawson’s high usage rate has shown a little bit of consistency issue with him disappearing on the stat sheet one night, while exploding on offense on another.
The last two games have seen Lawson overcoming lack of 3-point of shooting to still lead the Gamecocks in scoring.
Danjel Purifoy (Auburn):
Daniel Purifoy has been praised by Pearl for his patience after returning to the team and not getting significant minutes.
Now, with the rotation shifting due to the Wiley injury, Purifoy will get a boost in minutes backing up Chuma Okeke at the power forward.
South Carolina could be Purifoy’s chance to establish himself in the lineup even when Wiley returns to action in a few weeks.
Keys to victory
Auburn:
South Carolina is not the best 3-point shooting team to say the least, shooting 31.1 percent and ranking 309th in the country.
If the Tigers can keep South Carolina’s success in the paint to a minimum and force the Gamecocks to the shoot 3’s, the Tigers should get back on the winning track.
South Carolina:
Auburn’s biggest Achilles heel this season is sending opponents to the free throw and South Carolina likes to take the ball inside the paint.
Both Spencer and McLemore have trouble fouling shooters and if the Gamecocks can get those two in fouls trouble, they can take advantage of the small-ball lineup of Auburn.
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