For just the fourth time in Bruce Pearl’s tenure as head coach, and just the second time at Neville Arena, Auburn defeated Texas A&M. The Tigers survived a defensive battle with the Aggies, winning 66-55 to extend their win streak to eight games. It was Auburn’s closest win of the season.
“This has been one of the hardest-working teams that I’ve had,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “This team has improved from the summer to the point we are right now more than probably any team I’ve had at Auburn. We put ourselves in position. We’ve got work to do.”
The Tigers (13-2, 2-0 SEC) were led by Jaylin Williams, who scored 22 points. Williams had an efficient night, shooting 8-of-10 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Williams’s performance was his second-best scoring game of the season, only behind a 24-point game against Indiana. It was Williams’ 100th career win with the Tigers.
Williams broke the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last eight games for the Tigers.
“Before games, I actually haven’t been feeling well, I’ll wake up in a bad mood,” Williams said. “But I’m just working so hopefully I wake up every morning in a bad mood and keep playing well.”
On a night when both offenses struggled, Auburn only had two other players join Williams in double figures: K.D. Johnson, who scored 14, and Johni Broome, who scored 10.
The Tigers shot just 39.2% and especially struggled from 3-point range, where they went 5-of-22. Aden Holloway made a pair of 3-pointers, coming on Auburn’s first two possessions, Johnson added two and Williams made one.
As the Tigers struggled to shoot the ball, however, the Auburn defense was causing even more significant issues for the Aggies’ offense. Texas A&M (9-6, 0-2 SEC) shot just 29% from the field, just 3-of-19 from 3-point range and 10-of-27 on layup attempts. The Tigers forced 19 turnovers, scoring 17 points off of those. In the decisive last 9:15 of the game, Texas A&M did not score from the field.
It was feast or famine for the Tigers in the first half. Auburn went on a run of 7-0 but also had separate scoring droughts of 4:46 and 3:56. Despite the prolonged periods of offensive futility, the Tigers entered the half up 30-22.
The second half began with a furious Texas A&M rally that saw the Aggies overcome the eight-point deficit and take the lead, 48-46, with 9:15 to go. After the Aggies’ 26-16 run over the first 10:45 of the half, Texas A&M did not score again from the field. The Auburn defense held the Aggies to just seven points, all from the free-throw line, and closed the game on a 20-7 run.
Auburn’s lead was just 54-52 at the under-four timeout, giving the Tigers a chance to close out a close game, which they had not done yet this season. After that timeout, Auburn went on a 12-3 run for their 13th win.
“I do think they showed some poise,” Pearl said. “We took a great punch in the mouth from Texas A&M in the second half when they came back and got the lead. And we just didn’t panic.”
Though Williams made just one 3-pointer in the game, it proved to be the catalyst for that late run that turned a nailbiter into a double-digit win. With Auburn up by four and just 52 seconds to go, Williams’ 3-pointer put the Tigers up by seven – an insurmountable deficit given the Aggies’ offensive woes in the game.
“I feel like that’s one of the biggest shots of my career, for sure,” Williams said. “I practice that shot all the time…it was just like another shot to me but, obviously, it was big. Texas A&M beat me up pretty well the last few years. It was good to make that shot and I had confidence in that.”
The Tigers struggled on the glass all game, being outrebounded by the Aggies 44-34. Texas A&M got 19 offensive boards but scored just 10 second-chance points. Meanwhile, Auburn had just eight offensive rebounds and one second-chance point.
Auburn had its usual high number of assists, getting 18 against the Aggies, but committed an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers. The Tigers turned the ball over 12 times, with the Aggies scoring nine points off the turnovers.
It was the usual raucous atmosphere at Neville Arena, with the seats filled all the way up to the standing-room-only area. The atmosphere drew the praise of both Pearl and Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams. According to Pearl, there was a record student turnout for the game.
“Great crowd tonight. Unbelievable. Fantastic to have the students back,” Pearl said. “This was a record crowd in the history of Neville Arena for our students. That’s for Texas A&M on a Tuesday night. We’re an everything school.”
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13, when they host LSU, which like Auburn, is 2-0 in conference play. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. CST and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
