Will the real Tigers please stand up? Auburn’s not afraid of LSU, moves to 7-0 in SEC play
The No. 1 Auburn Tigers won another conference road game on Wednesday, this time handling business against an SEC bottom-feeder, LSU, 87-74. Auburn’s 19-1 start to the season is tied for the best record through 20 games in program history. This contest, which often will be the case as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, was not easy against a Tigers team that played with some extra juice in hopes on an upset.
That extra juice showed up early, but unfortunately not often for the now 12-8 (1-6) LSU squad. Stars Cam Carter (22 points) and Corey Chest (6 points, 7 rebounds) were effective right out of the gate, leading their team to a 6-0 run to open the game. LSU held the lead for just over the first 10 minutes of the contest, before Denver Jones knotted things up at 16 a piece. Auburn didn’t look back from there, ending the opening frame on a 25-13 run almost entirely on the back of Chad Baker-Mazara, who scored or assisted on 17 of Auburn’s 25 points.
While Baker-Mazara was the star of the first 20 minutes, it was National Player of the Year favorite Johni Broome who completely took over in the second stanza. Broome dropped in 20 of his 26 points points in the final 20 minutes despite rotating constantly with Dylan Cardwell for defensive purposes. With the 26-point, 16-rebound effort Broome now has accumulated a double-double in over half (3) of the five conference games he has played in. Other than Broome and Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly (13 points) and Tahaad Pettiford (10 points) finished in double figures.
Head coach Bruce Pearl will be happy with the result on Wednesday, but Auburn did show signs of weakness for the second-straight conference game since claiming a unanimous No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll. LSU senior Cam Carter (24 points) was able to will his Tigers within striking distance throughout the evening. If the guard had some more help behind him, LSU’s student section could have very well been enjoying a court storm. Nonetheless, the No. 1 team in the nation remains undefeated in conference play heading into a major test against No. 23 ranked Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday.
