GAME WRAP: South Carolina 80, Auburn 77

South Carolina wins, 80-77.

Auburn now is 13-5 overall, 2-3 in league play.

AUBURN BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 18-of-36 (50%)
3FG: 7-of-25 (28%)
FT: 20-of-26 (77%)

Auburn lost the rebounding battle, 40-34.

Auburn is 3-4 this season when being out-rebounded.

SOUTH CAROLINA BY THE NUMBERS
2FG: 24-of-46 (52%)
3FG: 6-of-18 (33%)
FT: 14-of-22 (64%)

MY AUBURN PLAYER OF THE GAME
G Jared Harper: 17 points (7-of-15 shooting), 5 assists, 4 rebounds

FROM THE AUBURN SIDE

• Tough loss insofar as the Tigers twice pulled themselves from what looked like the road to ruin. They fell behind mid-way through the first half and eventually pulled even. They fell behind mid-way through the second half and eventually built a lead with four minutes to go. To accomplish those feats on the road against a brutish opponent built to crush finesse teams like Auburn and not win leaves a really bad taste.

• The story of this game was Auburn's inability to defend in the post without racking up fouls. South Carolina forward Chris Silva was able to force his way behind the Tigers' 1-3-1 zone, Auburn's most vulnerable spot when using its zone, and then was able to gain strong position near the basket when Auburn went to its man-to-man defense. Silva finished with 32 points on 11-of-12 shooting. Full credit to him, but that kind of line means the opponent failed from a defensive perspective. Without Austin Wiley, Auburn doesn't have a physical big who can repel a physical big like Silva. I'm not totally sure Wiley would have made a big difference in this case, though his five fouls would have allowed him to create a bit more resistance. We're in a world of stretch 4s and stretch 5s, so it's unusual that Auburn needs a big, burly guy (ie Cinmeon Bowers) to anchor its post defense.

• It's accurate to put most of that on Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemore since, you know, they're the Tigers' centers and they're the ones who were getting beat. At the same time, Auburn's perimeter guys struggled at times to pressure the ball. Had they been more successful to that end, USC's inlet passes would have been more challenging/complex and maybe that would have cut into Silva's production.

• Auburn was living on borrowed time during the final 7:46. That's when Spencer picked up his fifth foul — just three seconds after McLemore picked up his fifth foul. That forced Chuma Okeke to play center and Danjel Purifoy to play power forward. Bruce Pearl never made another substitution. He had no other options. With that in mind, it's amazing to think that Auburn subsequently built a 12-0 run. Auburn's lineup during those final seven-plus minutes — Harper, Bryce Brown, Samir Doughty, Purifoy and Okeke — was both valiant and quite effective in many ways.

• Auburn's primary defense Tuesday was its 1-3-1 zone. That is exceedingly rare. In fact, I don't remember that being the case since the game at Dayton last season. The odd fact is that the Tigers tend to rebound better out of their zone — most teams stay away from zones because they tend to concede too many rebounds — and the decision to use that zone after the first eight minutes Tuesday saved the game. When Auburn was going straight man, South Carolina was in complete command. Once Auburn went to that zone, South Carolina was less sure of itself on the scoring end and never rekindled the excellence it showed during the first eight minutes. The Tigers kept switching things up, even showing a 1-1-3 look a time or two, and their ability to make those adjustments on the fly changed the course of the game.

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• There were two defining plays late:

a.) The first was Felipe Haase's three ball with 31 seconds remaining, which moved USC ahead by one point. Point guard Hassani Gravett drove off the right flank, got a step on Harper, drew Danjel Purifoy inside to help and left Haase alone in the corner. Gravett's pass was a bit low, but Haase had enough time to make the catch, check his feet and hit the shot in rhythm. That was Purifoy's man and Haase, despite being a bulky big, is a 38 percent shooter from three. It was a difficult, high-pressure shot; Haase was up to the challenge.

b.) The second was Auburn's final full possession. Brown drove the lane, sensed Silva gearing up for a back-side swat and bounced it outside to Chuma Okeke for a three. The shot was open. The shot missed. Purifoy gamely grabbed the offensive rebound, but went back up immediately when a kick-out was the correct decision. Purifoy had three defenders between him and the rim. Purifoy's "shot" was demolished and South Carolina went on to hit a pair of free throws that basically iced the game.

• That Purifoy was the flawed figure in both plays isn't coincidence. He earned a season-high 19 minutes and accomplished very little — save for a pair of assists and a pair of steals — despite finally playing with the endurance we came to expect from him two seasons back. His effort was good. His effect was not good. Purifoy still is trying to regain his real-time awareness and decision-making ability.

• Spencer hurt his team by fouling out, but he was effective while on the court. He finished with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting and played without fear. He was willing (perhaps too willing) to scrap with the scrappy Gamecocks. I thought he set a tone with his pugnacious attitude, though that same attitude yielded some wasteful fouls that ultimately ended his night prematurely. He's been a role player off the bench so long that he couldn't make that transition to "starter" Tuesday night. Though he didn't start, Spencer needed to provide 24 minutes of competence rather than his usual 12 minutes of hell-raising effort due to Auburn's personnel shortages. That adjustment wasn't made.

• Brown showed something different on the scoring end. He was more willing to take defenders off the dribble — and he was more creative with his route to the rim and the pace he used to get there. He was a more effective player from a strategic perspective. I say strategic because he was just 4-of-11 from the floor, a forgettable performance, but he also drew four fouls and went 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. He was a tougher player to guard. Truth be told, he missed several in-rhythm, catch-and-shoot threes that are his forté. If a couple of those go in, Brown ends up being the star of a big comeback.

• Auburn resumes play Saturday at Mississippi State. That game is scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. CDT and will be televised by the SEC Network.