The No. 16 Auburn Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday night, defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores 81-54 while sweeping to complete the season sweep. With their win over the Commodores, the Tigers move to 17-4 and 6-2 in the SEC.
Auburn won the tipoff but quickly turned the ball over, but its turnover was followed by a Vanderbilt turnover and dunk by Johni Broome to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Shortly after, Auburn guard Denver Jones sunk a 3-pointer from deep, propelling the Tigers to a 5-0 lead over the Commodores, and Auburn never looked back.
Jones was a key factor for the Tigers with 19 points, going 6-for-11 from the field.
“I’m really, really glad to see the ball go in for Denver Jones,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “Just seeing what he is capable of doing makes us a lot better.”
The Tigers’ next two possessions would look similar to Jones’ first basket of the game as Jones went on to make back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc, giving Auburn a 11-2 lead over Vanderbilt with 16:04 left in the first half. Jones, and the Tigers, went 3-for-3 from the three-point line in the first four minutes of the contest.
Overall, Auburn went 10-for-26 (38.5%) from beyond the arc. Jones led the team with four 3-pointers, followed by three from Jaylin Williams and two from Broome.
Despite solid three-point shooting, Auburn’s field shooting struggled in the first half. The Tigers were 12-for-33 (36.4%) from the field in the first half, but their defense and long-range shooting made up for their midrange and paint shooting slump.
Defensively, Auburn recorded seven blocks, five steals and 33 rebounds while holding Vanderbilt to 26.8% shooting from the field and 23.5% from beyond the arc. In the first half alone, the Tigers held the Commodores to 7-for-29 (24.1%) from the field, leaving Vanderbilt’s top two leading scorers with a total of one made shot from the field.
“Coach always talks about defensive rebounding,” Broome said. “And, when you hold teams to 26% shooting, your chances of winning are pretty high.”
Broome recorded eight defensive rebounds, 11 total rebounds, a season-high five blocks and one steal. He finished the night with 16 points and a season-high four assists.
Guard Tre Donaldson grabbed a season-high 7 rebounds, followed by Chris Moore and Chad Baker-Mazara with five a piece.
Leading 37-27 after the first half, Auburn managed to sharpen its shooting in the contest’s final half, shooting 16-for-30 (53.3%) from the field and 5-for-14 (35.7%) from three. In the second half, the Tigers put up 15 points from the bench while allowing six from the Commodores and 14 points off of turnovers while Vanderbilt managed five.
“These guys are working,” Pearl said. “And I know what we are capable of. We’ve had to continue to be able to step up if we’re going to be able to keep winning.”
Next up, Auburn heads to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff is at 5 p.m. CST and will be televised SEC Network.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
