In a season that was filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the 2019-2020 Auburn men’s basketball team did not disappoint. Through the heartbreak, the drama and the nail-biting last minutes, the Tigers fought their way to a final record of 25-6.
Today, we’re going to look back at the top 10 moments from the season.
(10) Auburn’s 80-67 win over South Carolina
This is a game that normally wouldn’t be included in this list, but it was an important game for the Tigers. Auburn was coming off back-to-back road losses and needed to bounce back before a tough, six-game stretch that included Kentucky, Iowa State and Alabama.
Auburn did just that, handling business in a 13-point win at home over South Carolina. This was also a coming out party for freshman Devan Cambridge, who dropped 26 points, going 6-of-9 from 3-point land.
(9) Auburn’s 79-65 win over Richmond in the Legends Classic
This was the first glimpse of real promise for this team. The team came into Brooklyn, New York, and dominated in the Legends Classic preseason tournament earning what looked like the first of multiple trophies.
Auburn was powered by the senior duo of Samir Doughty and Austin Wiley, combining for 40 of the Tigers 79 points.
The defensive identity began to come out in this game as well. The Tigers forced 12 turnovers, blocked four shots and forced seven steals.
(8) Samir Doughty’s ankle-breaking 3-pointer
You had to see this one coming. In the first three minutes of Auburns's game with Colgate, Doughty jogged up the right-hand side of the court and went between the legs and stepped back to bury the 3, while sending his defender to the floor. Doughty quickly released and had already turned around to start down the court with his hands in the air as the shot went through the net.
The Tigers defeated Colgate, 91-62.
(7) Auburn’s 70-69 win over South Alabama
This was the first of many scares for this Auburn team, against a team in the Jaguars that many believed would be a tournament team in the preseason. The Tigers scraped by with a one-point victory in their first road game of the season in a hostile environment.
The game was supplied by an odd offensive trio of Isaac Okoro (15 points), Anfernee Mclemore (14 points) and Jamal Johnson (14 points).
After McCormick's 3 from the corner came up short, Doughty ran down the rebound and found Okoro under the basket. The freshman caught the ball in the paint with five seconds on the clock, with Auburn trailing by one, and finished strong plus the foul with defenders draped all over him. This basket put Auburn up one and eventually won them the game.
(6) Auburn’s 79-76 overtime win at Arkansas
This was the start of what would become a three-game stretch of overtime finishes for Auburn. What had been a stale Auburn offense for most of the game switched when McCormick’s No. 5 jersey was ripped and had to finish the game with the extra No.55 jersey.
The Tigers were down by 11 points with six minutes left in the game. With around two minutes left in the game, McCormick nailed a 3 at the top of the key to give Auburn its first lead of the game. The Tigers held the momentum for the rest of the game.
(5) Isaac Okoro’s posterizing dunk against Vanderbilt
Few dunks were better than Okoro's poster against the Commodores. The freshman phenom slashed past Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith to get inside the paint and then elevated above the near 7-foot center to bring down the monstrous, one-hand slam. Okoro picked up a foul along the way and sunk the free-throw to complete the and-one.
This was the first real game dominated by Okoro as he finished the night with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Auburn went on to win the game 83-79.
(4) Jaylin Williams' off-the-backboard, self-alley-oop against Tennessee
This play ignited what became a 17-point, second-half comeback against Tennessee. We’ll talk more about that game later.
Freshman Jaylin Williams caught the ball at the top of the key and, seeing no options as he drove towards the basket, threw it up off the glass, grabbed it in the air and slammed it home.
(3) Seventeen-point comeback over Tennessee
With 15 minutes left in the game Auburn was down 17 at home. The Tigers roared back with a 20-2 run and took the lead courtesy of a Devan Cambridge 3 with 8:05 left in the game. Auburn never looked back and closed the game on a 6-0 run to give Auburn a 73-66 win.
(2) Auburn's 91-90 overtime win versus LSU
This was the second of three straight overtime games for Auburn and arguably the most exciting.
Another lackluster offensive performance from the Tigers had them in trouble. Auburn was down 71-63 with the game nearing its end but McCormick failed to let his team lose. The senior point guard was the late-game spark once again, hitting three straight 3-pointers to bring Auburn within two points in the final minutes. Doughty made a transition layup with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 74 and LSU missed a buzzer-beater 3, sending the game into overtime.
Overtime started with a 9-2 run for Auburn before LSU came back and took the lead once again, 90-89. McCormick crossed half-court with five seconds left before he made a move past the defender and lifted a floater over the defenders with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to give the Tigers a much-needed win.
(1) Auburn’s 75-66 win over Kentucky
How was this not going to be No. 1? The day was nothing but energy and excitement, all stemming from ESPN’s College GameDay's first-ever appearance on the Plains.
This game was a total team effort. Four Tigers scored in the double digits. Samir Doughty (23 points), Isaac Okoro (14 points), Austin Wiley (12 Points) and Danjel Purifoy (11 points) led Auburn's charge.
Auburn got the lead from a Purifoy 3 with four minutes left and never gave it up, going on to win 75-66.
The atmosphere was electric the entire night.
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