Auburn flexes ‘our greatest weapon’ as bench surges through nonconference play

The Tigers dropped a whopping 51 points off the bench against UNC Asheville

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Auburn doubled up on SEC weekly accolades last week, with forward Jaylin Williams and point guard Aden Holloway being named SEC player of the week and freshman of the week, respectively, after the team bashed Indiana in Atlanta.

They both scored 24 points against the Hoosiers. Four days later, they combined for 15 points.

Auburn still won by 25.

Balance, balance, balance.

Auburn’s 51 bench points in an 87-62 win over UNC Asheville marked a new season high and continue to underscore what the Tigers believe can be their strongest attribute this season: They’re not only deep, but that depth can pack a serious punch.

“There’s not very many teams in the country that can do that,” point guard Tre Donaldson said. “I feel like we use that as a label of our team.”

In an 87-62 win over UNC Asheville — in what will technically go down a as a neutral-site game on the resume but was a completely pro-Auburn building — the Tigers saw all 11 of their primary rotation players hit at least two shots. Nine players made at least three shots.

By halftime, nine different Auburn players had scored before Chad Baker-Mazara’s 3-point barrage put him on the board, followed closely by a couple baskets, including a 3-ball, for Lior Berman.

Bruce Pearl always likes to have depth be a calling card with his Tigers, and this year’s team may be the most extreme example of that. Since its win over Virginia Tech, Auburn is averaging a whopping 37.8 points from its bench in the last four games.

“The question in that locker room is: Are they OK with it?” Pearl said postgame. “How do they feel about it? Every player is going to want a double-double, but the way we have a chance to be the best team we can is to be able to share it like we’ve been sharing it. I think when you have 19 assists and seven turnovers on the heels of 25 and three (turnovers), that’s indicating we’re sharing it. Obviously, it’ll put us in a situation where if we have an injury or we have some foul trouble, we’re going to be able to withstand that.”

Guards K.D. Johnson and Tre Donaldson, and wing Chad Baker-Mazara are leading the bench mob at the moment. Baker-Mazara shot 3-of-3 from beyond the arc against UNC Asheville and has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, with 11 assists and only two turnovers.

Johnson’s role as spark plug off the bench has been his calling card for his entire Auburn career, and the senior has provided instant impact on both ends of the floor. On the heels of 14 points against Indiana, Johnson scored 5 quick points early against UNC Asheville to key Auburn’s run to take control of the game with a double-digit lead, and then went on to be a complete pest on the defensive end, with a whopping four steals in the game.

Johnson now has seven steals and just one turnover over the last four games.

Spelling 5-star freshman Aden Holloway at point guard, Donaldson has seemed to thrive in his role running the offense for around 20 minutes per game. The sophomore continues to push the pace in transition to set the tone for Auburn’s blazing offensive approach. But he’s also been aggressive as an offensive piece himself, scoring in double figures in three of the past four games — including a career-high 15 points against UNC Asheville.

Holloway has certainly been no slouch of late. His scoring cooled off Wednesday after he dropped 24 points on Indiana, as he instead dished out a team-high five assists with 7 points.

The play of Auburn’s guards adds to the anticipation for a star-studded matchup with USC’s Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis and Bronny James on Sunday.

“I feel like, and a lot of people feel like, that we’re the best guard duo in the country at the 1,” Donaldson said. “That’s going to be tested some days. Just looking forward to (USC). I feel like when me and Aden are out there, it’s hard to beat us. We bring so much and we’re so much alike. Being able to knock down shots, feed our teammates and get us going and stuff like that. It’s really hard to guard when you’ve got two point guards coming at you all night. There’s no drop off.”

After nine games, Auburn has 10 players in its rotation averaging at least 3 points per game. The only other time that was the case for a season under Pearl was the 2018-19 campaign — when the Tigers’ 10th man was forward Danjel Purifoy, who played about 12 minutes per night and scored 3.7 points. Currently, wing Chris Moore starts and plays 17.4 minutes per game, scoring 3.2 points.

“I feel like that’s gonna be our greatest weapon this year,” starting 2-guard Denver Jones said. “That’s because not many people can go nine- and 10-deep into their bench. But we’re fortunate to be in this position to be able to do that.”