The Auburn basketball team pulled off a massive win over the weekend, beating No. 2 Alabama 94-85 on the road in Tuscaloosa. It was one of the most highly anticipated games of the season, and the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in SEC history.
It was a strong offensive game for head coach Bruce Pearl's squad, but the ultimate decider in the game was the lockdown defense by the Auburn Tigers. Alabama shot only 19.2 percent from behind the arc, making only 5 of 26 three-pointers in the whole game— a season-low for the Tide. They shot 38.6 percent from the field, making only 27 of their 70 shot attempts.
A key player on both ends of the floor for Auburn basketball was senior guard Denver Jones, whose efforts were recognized by the conference with SEC Player of the Week honors. Jones played a big role in shutting down the Tide's star player, Mark Sears.
"I mean, Mark Sears is one of the best players in college basketball," Bruce Pearl said postgame, per Auburn Undercover. "Period. And, not that he did it by himself, but he did a great job on Mark. Made his catches tough, stayed down, stayed between him and the basket. You know, how do you stay in front of Mark Sears? Hardly anybody can. Denver Jones did, and nobody talked about it. He doesn't have enough blocked shots, or he doesn't have enough steals. He's one of the best defensive players in college basketball. He needs to be on the Naismith All-Defensive team."
In Saturday's game, Jones was the Tigers' second leading scorer behind Johni Broome with 16 points. He shot 5-9 from the field and went 3-5 from behind the three-point arc in addition to knocking down three of three free throws.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday against Arkansas in Neville Arena.