Could Denver Jones be Auburn’s key to success in March?

The SEC Tournament begins on Friday for Auburn, and luckily for the Tigers, one of their guards is heating up right as postseason play starts.

That player who’s been on a tear lately would be starting shooting guard Denver Jones.

Jones, who is currently enjoying his first season at Auburn, has hit double-digit scoring in 8 of Auburn’s last 11 games. This 11-game stretch was capped with a season-high 21 points in the regular-season finale against Georgia that included Jones hitting seven 3-pointers.

Jones’ 3-point tally against the Bulldogs made him just the 10th player since Bruce Pearl took over in 2014 to hit seven or more 3-pointers in a single game.

Not only is Jones hitting a lot of 3-pointers, but he’s also shooting at an extremely efficient clip. Over the last 11 games, Jones has hit 23 of his 45 3-point attempts, good for a 51.1% 3-point field goal percentage.

Over the season, Jones owns Auburn’s second-highest 3-point percentage at 41.7%, only behind Chad Baker-Mazara who is shooting 42.9% from deep.

The New Market, Alabama, native started this run by dropping 19 points during the Tigers’ home contest against Vanderbilt. Prior to that outburst against the Commodores, Jones was on a seven-game skid without hitting double-digit scoring while shooting just 32.4% from the field and 33% from deep.

Going into the SEC and NCAA Tournament where guard play is arguably the most important factor in making a deep postseason run or bowing out early, Jones’ scoring elevation could not come at a better time.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s about the time for everybody to start getting hot,” Jones said. “Right here in March, I feel like that’s about the right time where everybody starts playing with more confidence, starts taking the open shots and starts knocking them down.”

Comparing his recent scoring output to Auburn’s other guards, Jones looks like Auburn’s best scoring option among them and Auburn’s best chance of having high-level guard play in the postseason.

Point guards Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson have done a fantastic job distributing the basketball, leading Auburn to an eighth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.71, but Jones has been the more reliable scorer among Auburn’s guards.

Over the last 12 games, Holloway has only scored in double-digit figures just once and been held to four points or less in half of those.

Donaldson did not reach double-digit scoring once over the final six games of the regular season, and while shooting guard K.D. Johnson has hit double-digit scoring eight times this season, the senior is shooting just 37.8% from the field and 27.9% from deep.

Donaldson has been a much more efficient shooter with a 47% field-goal percentage and 38.3% 3-point percentage. He’s also scored in double figures nine times this season and has a solid NCAA Tournament game under his resume with an 11-point performance against Iowa in last year’s tournament.

However, the trend over the back half of the SEC schedule points to Auburn relying on Jones to do the guards’ scoring while Holloway and Donaldson dish and Johnson comes in as a high energy, defensive player.

Feeding the basketball to Jones and creating open looks for the shooting guard was a point of emphasis over the last three regular-season games for the Tigers.

Jones made 15 shots between the Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi State games and 11 of those made shots came off assists, including all seven makes in the Georgia game coming by way of assists.

And more shots might be on the way after Jones took nine shots against Georgia.

“A better coach would have gotten him 14 shots instead of nine, for real. So that’s on me,” said head coach Bruce Pearl.

Not just offense

Not only has Jones picked up his game offensively, but Pearl has also been blown away by his defensive ability.

Jones’ defensive stats don’t jump off the page as he only averages 0.7 steals per game and didn’t make the All-SEC Defensive Team, but he’s constantly pressuring whatever ball handler he’s matched up against and is often tasked with defending the opposing team’s best guard.

Jones’ defensive presence is something that Pearl tends to talk about more than his offensive ability.

“The thing I love about Denver is he’s locked in defensively,” Pearl said. “He’s locked in the scouting reports. He’s locked into his work ethic. He’s being rewarded because he does all the right things almost all the time. You put yourself in position for God to bless you, and whether you get the blessing or not, you put yourself in position. Denver Jones has put himself in this position with the way he trains, the way he works, the way he carries himself. He’s a terrific player.”

With Jones lighting up defenses by knocking down 3-pointers and also handling the task of defending the opposing team’s best guard, Auburn might just have a formula for success to make a deep run in March.