AUBURN | With orange and blue confetti scattered across the floor of newly-minted Neville Arena, K.D. Johnson walked around sans jersey, looking to be Facetiming every family member and friend possible. At the same time, chaos ensued around him with his teammates and their kin celebrating a feat seen only two times in Auburn basketball history: an outright SEC regular-season title.

Jabari Smith, fresh off posting 21 points and six rebounds, posed for picture after picture. Everyone wanted a piece of the star freshman, maybe realizing that this would be the last time he would be on this particular floor wearing “AUBURN” across his chest.

It was a scene of pure joy, teammates hugging each other, wearing new t-shirts and hats commemorating their accomplishment. Cutting down the net, Dylan Cardwell answered the call of – well, I’m not sure who – but of some people and disrobed, waving his jersey above his head. Bruce Pearl jumped from interview to interview, cutting it up with Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith.

Relief, almost. Picked during the preseason to finish fifth in the conference, the Tigers led the standings the entire time, quickly transforming from a sleeper pick to the outright favorite. A 10-0 start, all part of a 19-game winning streak, turned Auburn into the target. And, let’s be honest, the Tigers struggled at times, especially on the road, dropping three straight away from the Plains before pulling out an exciting victory at Mississippi State in overtime to clinch at least a share of the trophy.

The sellout crowd, other than a few seen leaving before the game even ended (WHY?), stayed and cheered as each player and coach took turns climbing the ladder to cut down the net. It was a captive audience right from the beginning, rising to an ear-splitting roar when Walker Kessler took a pass from Smith and dunked it while getting fouled. That was a mere minute and 19 seconds into the game.

South Carolina had no shot at stopping this party.

So, with the fourth SEC title in program history and the first outright one since 1999 secured, this team has already etched their legacy that few times ever at Auburn have reached. This team is a delight to watch despite being frustrating at times. Bigger things are on the horizon for this group that put in the offseason workouts that led to this moment.

Saving the last snip of the net for the person responsible for everything – the team, the sold-out building, the program’s renaissance and, yes, another conference championship –, Pearl could be heard saying, “I’m not going up” when approached for his time on the ladder. Then, of course, the coach relented and, for one last time, the faithful rang out with a “BRUUUUUCE!” as the man that saved Auburn basketball cut the last part of the nylon.

It was a moment that everyone had waited for and expected for much of the season. Finally, Preston Cook, the senior in his last game in the arena, hung onto the ball to run out the clock on this magical regular season, and the confetti started flying soon afterward.

Now it is time for the Tigers to earn their stripes in the SEC and NCAA tournaments, but for now, this group – this team full of superstars, hard-nosed defensive stalwarts and players that have accepted their role as contributors – took in the moment.

I have a feeling Auburn fans everywhere enjoyed it just as much.