Auburn, Ala. (EETV)- Auburn basketball finished its trip to the Bahamas with a 89-68 win over Syracuse on Friday. With the win, Auburn moves to 5-1 on the season.
Following Wednesday's double-overtime loss to No. 22 UConn, Jabari Smith and Auburn have bounced back with wins over Loyola-Chicago and Syracuse to close out the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Over the three-day span Auburn went 2-1 and earned fifth place in the early season tournament.
Syracuse came into this match following their win over Arizona State on Thursday behind the strength of their starting five and the Boeheim 2-3 zone. The weakness of the 2-3 zone is the heart of it and freshman Jabari Smith and junior Jaylin Williams controlled that area of the floor.
“When you’ve got Jabari Smith and Jaylin Williams in the middle of a zone like that – you’re trying to get them the ball, you put it in their hands and you just trust them,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “You trust them to get inside out, you trust them to get to the rim, you trust them to make plays.
Smith and Williams combined for six assists from the heart of the zone and kept finding inside looks to help Auburn dominate the paint. The Tigers outscored Syracuse in the paint 42-26.
Smith finished his day with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Defensively, Auburn made life tough for the 'Cuse as they turned the ball over 15 times in the game. Georgia transfer K.D. Johnson led Auburn in steals with 5. The 15 Syracuse turnovers turned into 20 Auburn points.
On Thursday, 10 Tigers scored to help Auburn beat Loyola-Chicago. On Friday, 11 Tigers scored in a 21 point win.
“I thought our bench was terrific,” Pearl said. “Wendell (Green) coming off the bench, Jaylin coming off the bench, Chris Moore. And then Lior Berman gave us huge minutes. And our guys feed off that when our 10th man is out there balling. That gives you great confidence.”
Auburn's 10-man rotation was key as the Tigers played three games in just as many days. The Tiger bench scored 33 points and outscored Syracuse's bench by 22 points. That rotation allowed Auburn to not get fatigued and keep their defensive pressure high throughout all three games.
Smith and the Tigers will return to action on Wednesday Dec. 4 against UCF inside Auburn Arena. Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m. CST.
