Hard to play much better than Auburn did on the defensive side of the ball against Virginia Tech.

The Tigers held the Hokies to 0.659 points per possession en route to a 74-57 win on Wednesday.

“I thought the kids are starting to get excited about guarding in such a way where it can frustrate the opponent, which leads to transition and some fun things in the game,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl.

Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor got his with 16 points, albeit inefficiently, but Tech’s two top scorers, Lynn Kidd and Sean Pedulla, combined for just 10 points on a combined 2-of-15 shooting.

In addition, Pedulla and Cattoor, who entered the game as 40 percent three point shooters, combined to shoot 1-of-8 from deep and Virginia Tech as a team shot just 30 percent from behind the arc.

“They're great guards and we knew we had to stop them first.,” said center Johni Broome. “So leading up to this week, we were coaching on our guards heavy. They have a great big, as well, Kidd. We were on the guards heavy about switching and not getting open shots. They did a great job listening to the scout. All the credit to the guards.”

Prior to its game against Auburn, Virginia Tech was averaging just 10.3 turnovers per game on the season.

The Tigers forced 21 turnovers, 11 of them being steals, which is the most turnovers the Hokies have committed since 2017. Aden Holloway led the way with three steals for the Tigers.

“That was great,” Pearl said. “That team doesn't turn the ball over. They turn the ball over eight times a game. And we were able to... again, the way the kids bought in and how hard they worked, that fits in with our depth. It made it difficult offensively.”

Turnovers can lead to points, and that’s what happened on Wednesday as the Tigers posted 30 points off of Virginia Tech turnovers and averaged 1.214 points per possession when running in transition.

“It really builds up our confidence when we’re making them turn the ball over and us getting out in transition and executing and basically helping each other on defense,” said Chad Baker-Mazara. “That’s something that we do a lot, I feel like. If we keep doing that it’s going to be really hard to score on us.”

Since the opening game, Auburn’s defense has gradually improved and has gone four games in a row not allowing a team to score over 60 points for the first time since the 2007-08.

Auburn now ranks No. 11 in defensive efficiency on KenPom.

“As long as we have each other’s backs,” Baker-Mazara said. “I feel like the offense is going to build through from the defense.”