AUBURN | It’s starting to come together for Chuma Okeke and it's showed every time the sophomore has stepped on the court the last two weeks.

In Wednesday night’s blowout win over Missouri, Okeke had 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. He shot 5 of 8 from the floor including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, and notched the fifth double-double of his career.

He was also key in holding Missouri’s leading scorer Jordan Geist to 11 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

“Geist is so good in that (screening) action, we’ve got to switch sometimes. And Chuma didn’t get scored on once. That’s that next-level stuff,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “He can guard inside, he can guard outside. He can score inside, he can score outside. He’s got a really high basketball IQ. He’s a really good kid. And as he gets older, he’ll accept more responsibility to inflict pain on the opponent, because he is that good.”

Okeke has averaged 12.8 points over the last five games after averaging 10.3 through Auburn’s first 15. After going through a 3-point shooting slump — he made just 3 of 19 from Dec. 19 through Jan. 22 — Okeke has made 5 of 9 in his last two games.

“I guess I can say the confidence,” said Okeke of what’s making the difference. “I have more confidence in myself, and just letting the game come to me. And that's about it.”

Auburn will need that confidence from Okeke Saturday night as Alabama visits Auburn Arena. The Tide is 4-3 in the SEC including home wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the last 10 days, two teams the Tigers lost to on the road.

“We beat them last year in our house, so I know they're going to try to come in here and take this win from us, too,” Okeke said. “But we've just got to come in and play like we did today. Guard on defense and value every possession, and hopefully we'll come out with the win.”

Tip-off at Auburn Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.