Auburn wins, 81-71.

Auburn now is 23-9 overall.

AUBURN BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 15-of-25 (60%)
3FG: 12-of-34 (35%)
FT: 15-of-19 (79%)

Auburn grabbed more rebounds, 33-32.

Auburn is 16-1 this season when winning the rebounding battle.

MIZZOU BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 8-of-22 (36%)
3FG: 15-of-30 (50%)
FT: 10-of-14 (71%)

MY AUBURN PLAYER OF THE GAME
F/C Horace Spencer: 11 points (4-of-7 shooting), 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 steals

FROM THE MIZZOU SIDE

"Not to take anything from anybody, but they have ever part — have nine, 10 guys that are talented enough. If you don't have nine, 10 guys to go toe-to-toe with them, something is going to give there at some point. That's what happened." — Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin

FROM THE AUBURN SIDE

• This victory was Auburn's first at the SEC Tournament since March 13, 2015.

• The biggest takeaway from this one, at least for me, is that Auburn won despite a "bad" game from PG Jared Harper. He scored just five points (on 1-of-6 shooting), which is well off his usual standard. In previous scenarios like this, Harper would get panicky and make poor decisions in terms of shot selection and lose sight of his primary function: Set the tone. He didn't lose sight of his function against Missouri Thursday. He finished with five assists and two turnovers. He played 27 minutes, didn't commit silly fouls, didn't take terrible shots, passed sharply and found ways to elevate his teammates. Bruce Pearl has commented many times that Auburn generally can't win when Harper falls flat, but Harper has matured as a leader. That axiom no longer applies — at least not 100 percent of the time. I see that as a major step forward for this team.

• Horace Spencer saved the Tigers here. I think it's really that simple. Auburn's perimeter shooters went 0-for-12 from the floor during the first half and Missouri's guys, well, they weren't having that problem. That didn't matter; Spencer kept rebounding and deflecting and hustling and even added 11 points. He kept Auburn afloat long enough to get those shooters back on track. Spencer can be difficult to appreciate on the scoring end due to his awkward-looking moves, but his persistence gives this team an advantage every night. On this night, Spencer's contribution was paramount.

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• I led with Harper's maturation, but Bryce Brown deserves a lot of credit as well. He missed all six of his first-half shots. He was ice cold. The Brown we saw during past seasons would mope after missing that many attempts — and he'd become almost worthless in every way. During the first half against Missouri, Brown's defense remained intense. He made some nice passes and had two assists by halftime. He didn't let the poor shooting dampen his spirit. Then the accuracy returned and Regular Ol' Bryce was back to lead Auburn to victory. His relatively new-found industriousness is so vital to this team's ability to win in March.

• I was really impressed with J'Von McCormick's first half. He was beaten off the dribble by MU's Jordan Geist and conceded two free throws at the 13-minute mark. McCormick endured a serious tongue-lashing from the head coach for that defensive lapse, but didn't let that discourage him. "I feel like I can be coachable," McCormick said. "I feel like he gets on me the most because he wants me to be more aggressive on defense. I think I have that in me — to be better on defense. I know he’s doing it for a good cause. I don’t really get mad."

• Danjel Purifoy had an efficient night: 5 points (2-of-4 shooting), four rebounds, zero turnovers. I'm willing to wager that he's got a clutch performance in him — and he'll bring it to light before this season ends. He's come a long way since his season debut against UAB.

• Auburn resumes play Friday against South Carolina, which beat Auburn 80-77 in Columbia earlier this season. That game is scheduled to tip around 2:30 p.m. CDT on the SEC Network.

• This game against South Carolina is a face-your-fear situation. The Gamecocks have more size than Auburn and F/C Chris Silva causes all kinds of problems in the post. He went for 31 points and 14 rebounds against the Tigers earlier this season. USC's defensive intensity has caused a lot of problems as well. Spencer said Thursday that post defense will be the key. "We’ve got to be more able to play to (Silva) — and not foul," Spencer said. "He shoots a lot of free throws. Early foul trouble is what really got to us. We couldn’t touch him and he was physical with us. We can’t blame the refs; we’ve got to play through that."