AUBURN, Ala.(EETV)- No. 2 Auburn defeated Georgia, 83-59, inside Auburn Arena on Wednesday. With the win, Auburn extends its winning streak to 14 games. The Tigers record moves to 17-1 on the season and 6-0 in SEC play.
This is the second time in school history that Auburn has started conference play 6-0. The last time it happened was in the 1958-1959 season.
“We did what we needed to do,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “We had great energy in the building. Once again, the environment was fantastic here in this arena..”
Auburn quietly went on an 11-3 run from the 16-minute mark to the 12-minute mark to build a Tiger lead of 10. From there, Auburn just piled on the lead building a lead as large as 27 points in the blowout win over Georgia.
“We always take it one game at a time,” said guard Wendell Green Jr.. “We always want to respect our opponent no matter what their record is, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Along the 14-game win streak, transfer Wendell Green Jr. has averaged 13 points, 5.5 assists and 2.14 turnovers per game. In the blowout win over Georgia, Green put up 12 points, 11 rebounds and four steals to put up the second double-double of his career. His biggest stat was that he only turned the ball over only twice.
“Wendell with a double-double. Pretty spectacular,” Pearl said.
The emergence of Wendell Green has been key to the Tigers success this season as he has been able to limit turnovers and create points off the bench.
The depth of this Auburn team has shown up all season and showed up on the court in the win over Georgia. Six Tigers scored in double figures including two off the bench. Only one of Auburn’s starting five did not hit the double figure mark.
“We just know coming off the bench, if the starters are not having a good start, when we come in, we have to pick up the energy. If they’re having a good start, we have to come in and have the same energy as them,” said forward Jaylin Williams.
Williams is half of what Pearl calls the “best 4-man position in the country.” The other half of that 4-man position is projected top-3 pick, Jabari Smith. Smith and Williams combined for 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting in the win.
Jabari Smith extended his double-digit scoring streak to 15 games. Smith finished his night with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Walker Kessler was dominant in front of the rim for the second straight game as he blocked another six shots. Kessler’s season total of 77 blocks through 17 games moves him into the top-4 for blocks in a single season. Kessler is tied for fourth and is one block off of moving into third place.
Next up for Auburn is the most anticipated matchup of the season for Auburn. Kentucky travels to the plains on Saturday for what will be the first ever top-12 matchup inside Auburn Arena.
“We have to step up in a huge way against Kentucky,” Pearl said. “I think it's one of the best teams that John [Calipari] has had in years.”
Tip off is scheduled for noon and will be aired on CBS. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear orange.
