“So 78 points, 25 assists and two turnovers in the last three games,” Pearl said. “You talk about great point guard play. We knew we were playing against a great point guard in Isaiah Collier. … They also see where he’s ranked on draft boards and things like that. They always want to play well. But it’s the youngest position on our team and right now we’re just getting incredible point guard play.”

Picking apart USC’s defense both around the basket and up top, Auburn shot better than 60 percent from the floor for the majority of the first half, and finished the game assisting on 18 of its 29 made baskets.

Auburn only coughed the ball up eight times, now with single-digit turnovers in three straight games — a significant departure from the Tigers’ performance against this same team last December, when they had what was a season-high 22 turnovers.

Collier fouled out with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

Ellis, who torched Auburn for 28 points in last year’s matchup, did his best to keep the Trojans hanging around, with 22 points, including three baskets from beyond the arc.

USC coach Andy Enfield deployed a zone, drop defense, but the Tigers were able to find plenty of openings with effective high-low offense.

Jaylin Williams had a pair of triples early on to extend USC’s defense, then worked his way inside to draw the Trojans in. That balance continued to keep USC on its toes throughout the game, and Auburn was routinely able to work the ball close to the basket to its frontcourt.

Williams (14 points) and Johni Broome (11) both scored in double figures, as the Tigers tallied 42 points in the paint for the game.

Their effectiveness opened opportunities for Auburn’s shooters on the outside, too, to score overtop of the zone defense. Auburn hit five 3-pointers in the first half and finished 8-of-21 for the afternoon.

Pearl was pleased with two of three aspects of Auburn’s zone offense.

“Two things we do really well against the zone is we can get Aden the ball, get the ball inside and get those balls in and we mix it up,” Pearl said. “The second thing we do is we shoot it well against the zone. The third thing we do, and we haven’t done as well with it, is driving gaps. We’ll probably need to mix that into our zone offense package.”

CARDWELL’S CAREER DAY

Dylan Cardwell’s third two-handed dunk of the game continued to send Auburn’s crowd into a frenzy, and it pushed the Tigers to their biggest lead of the game at that point, up 71-50 with just over 10 minutes left.

A few possessions prior, Cardwell rose up and rejected Ellis at the rim with an emphatic block.

“Dylan has been tremendous the last two or three games,” Cardwell said. “Like some people that haven’t really watched the game or seen the stats, Dylan would probably have 2 points or something. The things he does on the court that people don’t really realize is so amazing. He’s jumping in the ice and he’s impacting ball screens, getting back to front. He does so many great things and I’m proud of him.

Cardwell was extremely efficient off the bench, with a career-high 11 points, five boards, three steals and two blocks in 17 minutes. It marked only his third career game scoring in double figures.

“Yeah, that’s probably the best Dylan Cardwell’s played on both ends of the floor,” Pearl said. “Those monster dunks, the pivots, the footwork, the physicality, the rim protection. Anything get his hands on, he got. You know, he just grabbed everything.”

WILLIAMS’ ASSERTIVENESS

Williams joked that Sunday’s tipoff time was a bit too early for the fifth-year senior.

But he still had another efficient performance, contributing 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting against the Trojans.

“(Pearl) just told me always to be aggressive,” Williams said. “If you don’t see the point guard open, just be aggressive and then try to make a play. But if there is nothing there, be the senior that you are and just be smart with the basketball.”

Williams dominated Indiana with 24 points last Saturday, and Pearl said his mindset hasn’t cooled down since.

“He came ready to play,” Pearl said. “To be honest, since that Indiana game, he’s had great practices. He’s had great preparation. I think there’s a lesson to be learned from that. A lot of times, success can affect you. Jaylin, a couple of games back, didn’t have a very good game. And he put it on himself. He’s been really good ever since. More importantly, he’s been really good in practice.”

BRONNY JAMES’ IMPACT LIMITED

No one felt more wrath from Auburn’s student section than Bronny James Jr.

Of course, the son of NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James has been used to that, but this was the first big game of his college career. The Auburn student section immediately began heckling when he came on the floor for warmups, cheering every miss.

And Neville Arena really let him hear it after Cardwell threw down a dunk in his face in the second half.

“Does it get you a little bit more hyped up playing against good players? Yeah,” Holloway said. “Does it matter? No. Only thing that matters is just getting the win.

It was only James’ second game back on the court for the Trojans, after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout, and was only cleared to return to the court late last month. James finished with just 5 points on 1-of-4 shooting.

USCFootball.com of the 247Sports network reported before the game that James was on a 20-minute limit in the game as a continued precaution.

“I was happy to be able to see him out there on the court playing again,” said Holloway, who faced James in the McDonald’s All-America game earlier this year.