KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Without Chuma Okeke, Auburn knew it had to simplify its offensive approach.

The Tigers run many of their offensive sets through the sophomore power forward. They had to come up with something a little bit different to give themselves a chance against Kentucky.

So Auburn went with the most simplified offensive game plan imaginable — and it worked to perfection.

"In the second half, we basically told the guys we were going to give the ball to Jared and Bryce and let everybody else make plays off them or just get the hell out of the way and let them take over," Steven Pearl said. "That’s what they did."

Auburn's veteran back court was fine in the first half. It wasn't a sensational performance. Jared Harper and Bryce Brown scored their fair share of first-half points. They weren't great from 3-point range, however. Each of them had a turnover, and they'd be the first to admit they entered the halftime locker room knowing they had to be better to beat Kentucky.

In fact, Brown checked his phone at halftime and saw a text message from his father. His dad had sent him a few halftime pointers, things he could improve upon in the second half.

When Brown responded to his dad, he called his shot.

"I told my dad. He was trying to give me all these tips. Trying to talk to me. I texted him, ‘Dad, I got you. I’m not going to miss.’ I have that text. I told him I’m not going to miss," Brown said. "That’s how I am as a person. I felt like that just comes down to my nature. I know how bad I wanted it. I knew I had a lot of family watching. I feel like I live for these moments. I’m such an underdog, and I feel like I have been my whole life. That wasn’t the first time I’ve had to step up. I just had confidence in myself."

Brown lived up to his word. He didn't miss. The senior guard didn't want it to be his final game.

He hit his first 3-point in transition early in the second half, and he knew it was on. Brown ended up hitting all six field-goal attempts he took in the second half. He was 3-for-3 from deep. The only shot of any kind Brown missed after halftime came at the free-throw line when he only hit two of three after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.

When Brown hits, everyone feeds off it. That's exactly what happened when they saw the ball starting to go through the net.

"He came in with a spark. It felt good to see how he shows his leadership by just hitting shots when we need them," Horace Spencer said. "Jared and Bryce carried us."

Surprisingly, after the unconscious second half, Brown didn't take a single shot in overtime.

To be fair, hardly anyone other than Harper touched the ball in the extra period. They didn't need to. The junior point guard attacked the rim like a man who couldn't be contained. He wasn't happy with a rough turnover stretch late in the second half that could've cost Auburn the game. He wanted to rectify those mistakes.

Harper did that and more.

"He’s just a baller, man. He’s not scared of nobody," Malik Dunbar said of Harper's overtime showcase.

"I saw the point guard he really is — a true leader, a true scorer, a facilitator, everything. Everything he embodies, he brought it out in overtime," Spencer added.

Harper scored 12 of Auburn's 17 overtime points. He hit all six of his free-throw attempts, many of which iced the game for the Tigers. He missed his only 3, but Harper didn't need to make it happen from deep when nobody on Kentucky could stop the 5-foot-11 guard from getting the rim. He got there with ease, and he finished finished at will.

It was the catalyst Auburn needed to close out the 77-71 win.

"I was just trying to make the right play. I feel like I was trying to do that the whole game, but especially in overtime," Harper said. "I was trying to get the ball in Bryce’s hands just how well he was playing. I knew I had a chance to get downhill, create for myself, create for others. I was able to do that."

Combined, Harper and Brown finished the Elite Eight win with 50 points on 50 percent shooting. They hit 15-of-16 from the free-throw line, which was an important number in a game Kentucky shot 57 percent from the charity stripe. Add in five assists and six rebounds total, and the under-rated guards were the better players on the floor against the former McDonald's All-Americans.

It came as a surprise to no one in Auburn's locker room.

"Hard work pays off. I’m a firm believer in that. I’m a witness of it. I truly feel like nobody works harder than me and Jared. We’re in there all the time — before class, after class, before practice, after practice. We live in the gym. I feel like it’s paying off, and it’s showing."

The complex strategy of give it to Jared or Bryce and get the hell out of the way? It works.