Auburn men’s basketball (10-7, 1-3) will be looking for a bounce-back win this weekend in Neville Arena, as the Tigers are set to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-7, 1-3) on Saturday evening.
Head coach Steven Pearl and company are coming off a disappointing 84-74 loss to Missouri this past Wednesday, a game in which Auburn lacked the same fire and spirit as it had just a couple of days prior in the Tigers’ impressive and unexpected blowout of No. 15 Arkansas last Saturday.
This season has been sort of a roller coaster for Auburn, as it tallied multiple losses in a historically difficult non-conference schedule, but also exhibited flashes of promise at moments, as well. Fast forward to conference play, the Tigers started with two consecutive losses at Georgia and to Texas A&M at home before defeating Arkansas last weekend. Then, with an opportunity to kickstart a run with a handful of winnable games on the docket, they fell to Missouri.
Senior forward Keyshawn Hall has been a bright spot for this Auburn team the entire year, as the UCF transfer ranks third in the SEC in points per game with 20.9. Hall scored 32 points against Texas A&M and 30 points versus Arkansas, making him the first Auburn player to record back-to-back 30-point performances since Wesley Person in 1994.
He is undoubtedly Auburn’s most reliable player and a constant scoring threat, despite a quiet night in their loss to Missouri, but he needs to continue to produce on both ends of the floor if the Tigers want to compete for something this season.
On the other hand, South Carolina boasts an identical record to Auburn this season, but a considerably less impressive resume. The Gamecocks have lost three of their last four, most recently falling to Georgia and Arkansas. Their best win is arguably LSU, which stands as their lone SEC win.
South Carolina is led by veteran point guard Meechie Johnson, who leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points and 4.1 assists per game. Guard Mike Sharavjamts and forward Elijah Strong follow Johnson, averaging 11.6 and 11.4 points per night, respectively.
The Gamecocks’ statistics on paper aren’t that impressive, but they are certainly able to beat anyone on their schedule if they knock down threes. South Carolina averages 79.2 points per game (15th in SEC) and 31.4 3P% (14th in SEC) this season, but at the same time, it ranks sixth in the league in three-point attempts (27.5).
So, South Carolina shoots a lot of threes, and like any team, if those see the net, the Gamecocks will have a chance to beat anyone.
“They do a great job of getting to the foul line,” Pearl said. “When they make 3s, they’re a different basketball team. This is an incredibly capable team.”
As the Tigers learned against Missouri, no one can take a night off in this league. South Carolina might not jump off the page as a big-time opponent, but Auburn cannot afford to drop this game.
Auburn needs to limit turnovers, share the basketball, and play with relentless effort and energy, as Pearl always says, in order to emerge victorious. The Tigers are the most successful when they play as a team and are more excited to play than the other squad, which is what needs to happen for Auburn on Saturday evening.
The Tigers and Gamecocks will tip off at 5 p.m. CST inside Neville Arena, and the game can be found on SEC Network.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
