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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn wins first game of NCAA Tournament over Jacksonville State

Jabari Smith (10) singles out a defender and puts him on a poster with a dunk in the Tigers' first-round win over Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2022.
Jabari Smith (10) singles out a defender and puts him on a poster with a dunk in the Tigers' first-round win over Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2022.

In Auburn’s first game of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the Tigers cruised to victory over in-state foe Jacksonville State 80-61. 

Jabari Smith, in his first NCAA Tournament game, scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to propel the Auburn charge past the deep-ball shooting Gamecocks and good for Smith's sixth double-double of the year. 

“It is one game,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “Let’s see if we can build on it.” 

With Smith’s final stat-line, he joins Chuck Person and Charles Barkley as the only Tigers to put up such stats in an NCAA Tournament game. Both of those players have jerseys hanging in Neville Arena.

“He got some really clean looks,” Pearl said. “That was really key. Jabari is ultra-competitive, he wants the ball. But he's not a hog, it's not about him. It is about us. We got 10 and they don't."

Wendell Green Jr. (1) pulls up from three during the Tigers' first-round win over Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2022.

To start the contest, Smith had five of Auburn’s first seven points. The Tigers got out to a quick 5-0 lead, but that almost instantly dissipated as the Gamecocks hit five straight deep-balls. 

Auburn saw itself down 17-11 midway through the first, but two threes from Jaylin Williams and K.D. Johnson brought Auburn back and the Tigers went comfortably into halftime up 39-27.

After scoring 0 points in Auburn’s SEC Tournament loss to Texas A&M, Johnson went into halftime with eight points on 3-5 shooting, including two triples. 

“I struggled the last game,” Johnson said. “When I saw I got a bucket, it turned us up in all areas."

Johnson opened up the scoring for Auburn with its first basket of the day. After his first made three, Johnson ran down the court celebrating. He told his team on his way back to the defensive end, “I am back, bitch.” 

K.D. Johnson (0) sticks his tongue out at fans during Auburn's first-round win over Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2022.

Auburn needed every last one of Johnson’s points early as the Gamecocks seemingly could not miss from range. The Gamecocks were No. 11 in the nation in made threes coming into the game, and after five straight makes on highly contested shots, it seemed like there was nothing more Auburn could do defensively. 

However, the Gamecocks would not hit another triple for the remainder of the first half, and would not even hit a shot from the field after making a layup with 5:39 to go. 

It would take the Gamecocks almost four minutes into the second half to record their next field goal. At that point, the Gamecocks were down 51-31. 

“We had to play well to beat that team,” Smith said. “And we played well."

Integral to stopping the Gamecocks on defense was National Defensive Player of the Year candidate, center Walker Kessler. 

Kessler, playing in his first game in a few weeks without a shoulder brace, was one block short of a triple-double putting up 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks. 

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The big man played 30 minutes, tied for a team-high, and grabbed five offensive boards to add to Auburn’s total of 19. Auburn turned those offensive boards into 18 second chance points. 

"We have not played that well in a while,” Pearl said. 

The second half was smooth sailing for the Tigers, as the Gamecocks never came closer than 12 points to tying Auburn’s huge lead. 

The only hiccup in the second frame was an errant elbow by Kessler that caught Williams in the mouth after going up for a rebound.

Williams went down in a heap and Kessler’s elbow was immediately bloody and both players were taken to the locker room. Kessler returned, but Williams did not. 

"Jaylin is going to get some work done today,” Pearl said. “He is going to have to go through a concussion protocol."

Auburn struggled a bit after the duo’s departure, and JSU came back within 15 after scoring nine straight points, but a Smith triple returned the momentum to Auburn and it never left. 

Auburn’s high scoring margin was not based on Auburn simply making shots, but the Tigers spreading the ball around. 

In what seemed like a complete 180 degree turn from Auburn’s last game against Texas A&M, Auburn assisted on 23 of its 28 makes against the Gamecocks. The 82.1% assist percentage is Auburn’s highest of the year. 

Johnson led Auburn with seven assists, Wendell Green Jr. had six and Smith and Zep Jasper each had four. 

Allen Flanigan even came alive against the Gamecocks, posting 10 points and snagging five boards. 

The biggest play of the game for Auburn was Smith’s dunk with almost under a minute to go. 

Smith had tried to throw down a hammer before in the game with no success, but after catching the ball at the top of the arc and beating his defender, his time had finally come. 

The freshman took a dribble and cocked his arm back and went straight up, going even with Jacksonville State’s Brandon Huffman. And Smith threw it down right on top of Huffman’s head.

"That was crazy,” Johnson said. “He never did that in practice. I didn't know he could get that high."

Auburn’s next opponent will be the winner of Friday’s mid-day matchup of USC and Miami. When asked about his first NCAA Tournament appearance, Smith was just glad to have a game under his belt. 

"First one is the hardest one,” Smith said. “It was good to get the jitters out. I am ready for the next one."

Wendell Green Jr. (1) and Jabari Smith (10) celebrate during a first-round win over Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 2022.

Henry Zimmer | Assistant Sports Editor

Henry Zimmer is from Jacksonville, Florida, and is currently in his fifth year with The Plainsman. He is currently the Assistant Sports Editor and can be followed on Twitter here: @henryzimmer


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