No. 1 Auburn avenged its loss to No. 6 Florida on Saturday by picking up an 80-68 win over Vanderbilt inside Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Tuesday night. Chaney Johnson played a significant role in the Tigers’ success.

The 6-foot-7 senior from Alabaster, Ala. was Auburn’s second-highest scorer with 20 points, closely following Denver Jones’ 21. Johnson shot 9-of-10 from the field, also grabbing five rebounds.

“Chaney Johnson was rewarded as our hardest worker,” AU coach Bruce Pearl said. “He is our hardest worker, all those moves down there at the basket. No one is in the gym more than Chaney Johnson, working on those moves, perfecting those moves. He obviously had an advantage on the inside and took full advantage, 9-for-10.”

Vanderbilt managed to take the lead early in the second half, but a 12-point run from Johnson from the 16:07 mark to the 11:38 mark helped Auburn build back its lead. The Tigers did not trail after that, leading by as much as 16.

“I’m not even really surprised,” Jones said. “I say that a lot because I see the work he puts in. So when he’s going out there and doing that, it’s just really great to see that.”

Johnson has been one of Auburn’s most improved players this season. After averaging 4.7 points per game in 15 minutes of action throughout the 2023-24 campaign, he is averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 56.9 percent from the field.

“You watch film last year of Chaney, you see some moments, but you don’t even recognize him because he’s twice the man he was,” Pearl said. “He is one of the best athletes in this league. He’s powerful, he’s quick, he’s explosive and he’s got a really good touch. He can shoot it from the perimeter. I’m telling you, Chaney can really shoot it.”

Johnson and the rest of the Tigers return to action on Saturday when they visit No. 2 Alabama. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and ESPN will carry the broadcast.