AUBURN | Jabari Smith has carried himself like a veteran since arriving in Auburn this summer.

He carried that over to his first college game Tuesday night. The true freshman scored eight points, making 2 of 3 3-pointers as the Tigers opened the season with a 77-54 win over Morehead State.

“Jabari’s an unbelievably talented player,” said center Walker Kessler. “I mean — phew — so talented. He’s going to do great and I have no doubt about that. He had no turnovers, which for a freshman, that’s elite. He’s going to do great and he played great.”

Smith, a 6-foot-10 forward, made the most of his 21 minutes on the floor despite missing time in the second half with cramps. He tied for the team lead with six rebounds and three assists and led AU with three steals.

Smith is already living up to the high expectations that come with being the highest-ranked player of the Rivals era to sign with Auburn.

“You just got a taste of everything,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “That's the defensive rebounding, three assists and zero turnovers, three steals -- very active in 20 minutes, 21 minutes. It was good -- something to build on.”

Auburn (1-0) will host ULM Friday night at 7 p.m. CT on SECN+/ESPN+.