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Auburn getting 'good quarterback play' from J'Von McCormick

The last time Auburn squared off against Ole Miss — an 83-82, double overtime victory for the Tigers — J'Von McCormick had nine turnovers and struggled to facilitate Auburn's offense.

And that was the last time McCormick hindered Auburn much while on the floor.

In seven games since, McCormick has been a steadying presence for the No. 15 Tigers (23-4, 10-4 SEC) in numerous facets of the game.

J'Von McCormick stuffed the stat sheet against Tennessee with eight points, four assists and five steals to just one turnover.
J'Von McCormick stuffed the stat sheet against Tennessee with eight points, four assists and five steals to just one turnover. (Julie Bennett / AP)
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“J’Von McCormick has been really good," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Monday. "You’re not going to win without good quarterback play, and you’re not going to win without good point guard play. It’s just that simple. It’s a lot to put on him, but that’s what it is."

The string of success for McCormick really ignited in the second half in a double-digit comeback, overtime win at Arkansas two games after the first Ole Miss matchup.

After the senior's No. 5 jersey was ripped and he switched into Auburn's spare No. 55, nameless jersey, McCormick scored 11 of his 16 points late in the second half and into overtime.

In his past five games alone, he's scored 20-plus points three times — including 23 points against LSU when he almost single-handily forced regulation with a trio of 3-pointers in the final minute before hitting the game-winning floater in OT with 0.9 seconds left.

And when he's not scoring in 20s, he's stuffing the stat sheet in other ways — like with nine assists and nine boards against LSU, or with six assists and five boards against Alabama.

Or, most recently, with four assists and a career-high five steals to just one turnover in a win over Tennessee on Saturday.

"Jeez, I didn't know that," Auburn guard Samir Doughty said after the Tennessee win when told McCormick's stat line. "... When he's like that, we're a better team."

Pearl thinks he may be overworking McCormick in terms of minutes, however. The point guard played 18-and-a-half of the first 20 minutes against Tennessee. That's not going to be a formula for success down the stretch of the season, the coach said.

Doughty can also handle the point, but he played 37 of 40 minutes against the Volunteers. Once Auburn gets back second-leading scorer Isaac Okoro from injury, the pressure may be alleviated from the seniors to produce at such a high volume.

"I blame myself for putting [McCormick] in a position where, late in the first half, he had to take some possessions off just because he was exhausted," Pearl said. "That’s my fault for not getting him out of there.”

McCormick will again direct Auburn's offense on Tuesday night against Ole Miss, which has won five of the last six meetings inside Auburn Arena and 12 of 15 in the series overall.

The Tigers will look to start stronger this time around and they had just one assist in the first half of the previous meeting and struggled to crack Ole Miss' blend of man defense, 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone.

"They’ve obviously brought out some of the worst in us," Pearl said of Ole Miss.

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CST on SEC Network.

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