It wasn't pretty, but courtesy a 22-0 run to end it, Auburn beat Southern Indiana 68-54 on Friday night.

It was the final tuneup for Bruce Pearl and Auburn and also the first showcase of what this team can do against another team. Some things went well, and others didn't.

Three takeaways from Friday's game:

The starting lineup is far from set

Auburn's starting lineup didn't look how some expected on Friday. While it was known Wendell Green was the starting point, it ended up being a surprise to see Zep Jasper start at shooting guard and K.D. Johnson coming off the bench.

The group — which consisted of Green, Jasper, Devan Cambridge, Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler — didn't put together a strong showing. The offense was stagnant in the halfcourt and struggled to score in transition, too.

"Our starters struggled and that unit deserves to be out there based on how each of them have performed over the summer and fall, but that unit has not performed well together over the last three weeks," Bruce Pearl said after the game.

Because of that, he said some "tinkering" may follow suit for the starters.

Where will things change?

While he was a great sparkplug off the bench and a strong sixth man, it feels like Johnson needs to be in the starting lineup. He finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. All of his contributions don't show up in the final stat-sheet.

He's a strong piece for this team and it's going to be hard for Pearl to keep him in a sixth-man role.

The length of Auburn's defense might've been underestimated

A lot of the attention during the offseason for Auburn's defense fell on Zep Jasper — the Honey Badger — and K.D. Johnson. The two are tenacious on-ball defenders who make things extremely hard on the opposing defenders. Not to mention the return of another strong defender in Allen Flanigan coming back in December.

But what was forgotten by some was the extreme length of this team. It was a block party in Auburn Arena on Friday and it feels like that's going to be the case most nights.

If someone gets past the guard or wings, Walker Kessler or Dylan Cardwell is going to be right there in the paint to send a shot flying.

Auburn had 12 blocks on Friday. Six came from Kessler, three from Cardwell, two from Jaylin Williams and one from Jabari Smith.

This team, even without Flanigan, is going to make it incredibly tough for opposing teams to score on them.

The halfcourt offense needs to improve... that starts with the point guards

One of the biggest concerns heading into the season was the halfcourt offense and how it would flow without Allen Flanigan.

Those concerns proved to be justified on Friday. The offense couldn't get things going and a lot of that fell on the play of the point guards.

"We weren't organized and we weren't gelling. I'm going to hold my point guards accountable for that," Pearl said after the game.

Zep Jasper was certainly the stronger of the two tonight, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds and an assist. Wendell Green had seven points, two rebounds and two assists. Green had three turnovers while Jasper had two.

This Auburn team doesn't need Sharife Cooper-esque play out of the point guard this year. There's so much talent around them. But the guards do need to improve and play better to help get this halfcourt offense going.

FINAL STATS:

Devan Cambridge: 13 points, 4-7 FG, 3-4 3FG, 2-4 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 2 TOs, +13

K.D. Johnson: 12 points, 3-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 5-8 FT, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 TOs, +10

Jabari Smith: 11 points, 3-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 4-7 Ft, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 TOs, +17

Zep Jasper: 11 points, 5-9 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TOs, +18

Wendell Green: 7 points, 2-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 TOs, -4

Jaylin Williams: 6 points, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, +10

Walker Kessler: 4 points, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6 blocks, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, -22

Chris Moore: 4 points, 2-2 FG, 1 rebound, +3

Dylan Cardwell: 0 points, 0-0 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist, +23

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