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Auburn basketball: What’s on the line in SEC regular season finale vs. South Carolina

By Andrew Hughes

Plenty is on the line this Saturday in the Auburn basketball regular season finale against South Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Plenty is on the line this Saturday in the Auburn basketball regular season finale against South Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /
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Auburn basketball gave Tiger fans quite the scare on Wednesday night en route to clinching (at minimum) a share of the SEC regular season championship with an OT win against Mississippi State at ‘The Hump.’

The lead seemed well in hand in the first half. AU was up 19 with 2:34 left until the break but the deficit was cut down by the Bulldogs to 12 by halftime.

By the 7:21 mark of the second half, Auburn was trailing by five. Just like on the gridiron, the Tigers allowed Mississippi State to come back from a massive deficit, but unlike Auburn football back in November, Auburn basketball was able to close the door back up.

An 11-point win, a covered spread, and a share of the SEC regular season championship were the spoils of Wednesday night’s victory.

K.D. Johnson was the hero late, scoring 12–yes 12–points in the five-minute overtime period that the Tigers’ second-half collapse paved the way for. Jabari Smith further cemented his NBA Draft status with a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double that included the game-tying bucket at 61 apiece with 51 seconds left in regulation.

All’s well that ends well. So what’s on the line in the regular season finale this Saturday afternoon at the Neville Arena against South Carolina?

Sole possession of the SEC regular season championship and a possible #1 seed are on the line for Auburn basketball in finale against South Carolina

A banner will be hung either way now with Mississippi State having been defeated. That said, sharing this year’s title for top team in the conference with Kentucky, Arkansas, and/or Tennessee simply wouldn’t represent Auburn’s true place atop the SEC totem pole when history looks back at the 2021-22 season.

Not only that, but knocking off a surging South Carolina Gamecocks squad would give the Tigers momentum for next week’s SEC tournament in Tampa.

There’s plenty on the line for Jabari Smith’s (and potentially Walker Kessler’s) last dance at 250 Beard-Eaves Court this Saturday.

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