The Auburn Tigers secured a dominant 99-68 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their Holiday Hoopsgiving trip to Atlanta on Saturday. Both teams were without various personnel, but the game went on as scheduled.
"We just wanted to go out and play Auburn basketball,” said assistant coach Wes Flanigan, who was filling in as head coach for a suspended Bruce Pearl. “Our guys obviously stepped up. They stayed true to who they were. We did an unbelievable job of sharing the basketball and playing the right way.”
The Tigers left their neutral site with what was essentially a home win, in front of a majority Auburn crowd. Auburn was led by Jabari Smith, who finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Twelve of his points came in the first half and he spent the final five minutes cooling down on the bench.
Nebraska was down four players, one with a broken foot, one with a knee injury and a pair with the flu. There were concerns about the team even being able to make the trip to Atlanta as an outbreak of the flu swept through campus.
Facing their own illnesses, Auburn was without Chris Moore, also sick with the flu. The Tigers are still missing guard Allen Flanigan, who has missed the start of the season with an Achilles tear.
Wendell Green Jr. had the electric performance for the Tigers. Green followed close behind Smith with 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
“Wendell was unbelievable,” Flanigan said. “He told me before the game in the locker room, ‘Coach, I got you.’ And so I knew he was ready to go. I’m just so happy he was able to go out there and do what he does – that’s lead a game, that’s get people involved but also step back and make some of those long 3s, which opened up the game for us.”
The unranked Cornhuskers failed to show up properly, facing frequent scoring droughts that allowed the Tigers to create larger and larger lead margins early in the game. Nebraska went 7-for-22 on 3-point shots, an area where it failed noticeably compared to the 14 the Tigers made.
Auburn has faced some second-half slumps this season, but this was not the case against Nebraska, which played more consistently but failed to swing any momentum in their direction. Dunks by Devan Cambridge and Smith kept the energy up on the Auburn side.
Auburn’s depth also contributed to their steady lead and performance. Players like Lior Berman and Dylan Cardwell could relieve starters like Smith and Kessler, who had gotten banged up against Yale and spent time on the bench recovering.
The Auburn bench kept player minutes in the low to mid-20s, where Nebraska had players in the upper-20s and even two who hit thirty.
Star Brooklyn Nets player Kevin Durant was in the building, sitting courtside and getting a look at some young talent that he will likely see in the NBA soon. Another well-known face in basketball, Charles Barkley was also in Atlanta to see his Tigers play.
The Tigers final game without Bruce Pearl will come Tuesday in Auburn Arena as they face the University of North Alabama. Their game against UNA is one of only a few non-conference games left before Auburn opens its SEC schedule against LSU at the end of the month.
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Callie Stanford is from Springville, Alabama and is currently a sophomore at Auburn. She has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
