Atlanta | Ohio State isn't a bad team, Auburn is just a great one, and that showed on Saturday.

KenPom No. 1 Auburn jumped all over Ohio State early and never looked back as it beat the Buckeyes by a score of 91-53.

"Our guys respected (Ohio State)," Bruce Pearl said. "We saw what they did to Texas. We saw what they did to Rutgers. As a result, we had great preparation."

Johni Broome continued his dominance by posting a 21-point and 20-rebound game, something an Auburn player hasn't done since Kevin Ardister in 1989.

Auburn will be back in action on Dec. 17 when it takes on Georgia State in Neville Arena.

Here are some takeaways from the Tigers' thumping of Ohio State.

JOHNI IS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE COUNTRY

Yeah, exactly what the title says, and it's really not that close right now.

To go along with the 21 points and 20 rebounds, Broome also had six assists and three blocks all in just 26 minutes.

The only thing stopping Broome was his team's dominance.

When he checked out for the final time, Broome by himself had more rebounds and assists than Ohio State had as a team.

"He's so incredibly talented," Pearl said about Broome. "And then, have six assists and no turnovers, like, literally, literally. And then he said to me, with about 10 minutes left to go, he said... ‘Coach, go ahead and put Turtle in there and let him get some minutes."

On the season, Broome has an assist rate of 24.8 percent, a turnover rate of nine percent and a block rate of 9.5 percent. Oh, and he's also averaging 20.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

And here's the scary part: he still thinks he can improve his play.

"I feel like I can get better," Broome said postgame. "I shot 50 percent today. I missed a lot of shots today. I wouldn’t say it’s my best basketball. I feel like I can play a lot better. I feel like I can play better basketball right now."

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE OTHERS

Broome is very good, but this Auburn team is much more than just him.

Including Broome, seven Auburn players scored at least eight points.

Denver Jones, Dylan Cardwell and Jahki Howard all reached double figures with 14, 10 and 11 points, respectively.

Tahaad Pettiford pitched in nine points and five assists.

Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn's second-best player, only had eight points on 2-of-7 shooting and it did not matter.

Auburn is simply a complete team.

SOFT RIMS

Remember when Auburn couldn't shoot away from home? That doesn't seem to be a concern for this team.

After a 13-of-30 shooting performance from deep, the Tigers are shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the arc in neutral and away games this season, and, per KenPom, the lowest-ranked team they've played on a neutral court is Ohio State which is No. 36, which is still a Quad-1 game.

Jones shot 4-of-5 from deep and Pettiford was 3-of-4 to lead the way for the Tigers behind the arc.

"When Miles (Kelly) or Chad or Denver or Tahaad are shooting the ball — they think it's going in," Pearl said postgame. "Jahki, too. They think it's going in. So, that effect on the perimeter... Chaney Johnson and Johni Broome, our bigs can shoot it, too. You've gotta get out and guard us on the perimeter, which opens up things on the inside."

RUN 'EM OFF THE LINE

Ohio State did not find the same success that Auburn found beyond the arc.

Coming into the game, Ohio State was shooting 41 percent from deep on the season which ranked No. 5 nationally.

The Buckeyes weren't too far off that number as they shot 37.5 percent from deep, but it was on just six made threes, and two of those came within the final minute of the game.

Just like it did against Memphis, Auburn was able to take a great three-point shooting team and run them off the line which in turn completely bogged down the Buckeyes' offense.

"I love our defensive system," Pearl said postgame. "And, I think when again, Chaney and Dylan and Johni, they can guard it, they can guard one through five, and that's just — and Denver Jones, Chad, Miles’ length. Our guards are getting better defensively. And again, buying in.”

Ohio State shot just 35 percent from the field, its second-lowest mark of the season.

Bruce Thornton, who came into the game averaging 16.2 points per game, put up just three on 1-of-8 shooting, and that came with Ohio State down 39 late in the second half. It's the fewest amount of points he has scored in a game all season.

Big part of that? Denver Jones.

"He turned his ankle yesterday in practice a little bit," Pearl said about Jones. "We were a little worried about him, especially guarding Bruce Thornton, who's such a great player. But he, mentally, stayed right and ready."

THIS TEAM IS REALLY GOOD

We all know it, but it needs to be emphasized how good this Auburn team is.

Ohio State entered this game No. 28 on KenPom and No. 19 in the NET, so this will likely end as a Quad-1 victory for Auburn, and it won by 38 points.

The Tigers were running an all bench lineup in the final minutes and they were still keeping pace with Ohio State's starters.

Auburn is No. 1 on KenPom, and the difference between the Tigers and Alabama, the No. 7 team on KenPom is bigger than the difference between the Tide and Oklahoma who ranks No. 43.

In addition to KenPom, Auburn also ranks No. 1 on T-Rank and is No. 4 on EvanMiya, though EvanMiya has not been updated through the Ohio State game.

Auburn is also widely projected as the No. 1 overall seed.

It's December, yes, but don't kid yourself, this Auburn team is special.