SEC Men’s Basketball: #11 South Carolina vs #13 Auburn NCAAB Lines & Expert Preview

The lone Top 25 matchup around college basketball Wednesday is from the SEC as No. 11 South Carolina visits No. 13 Auburn. The Gamecocks are tied for the SEC lead with Alabama, and Auburn is a game back. The Tigers are double-digit favorites Tuesday on the NCAAB odds. 2024 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis #11 South Carolina vs. #13 Auburn | MyBookie Sportsbook Week 15 NCAAB

How to Bet South Carolina at Auburn NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: Neville Arena
TV: SEC Network
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Auburn -11.5 (total 137.5)

South Carolina vs Auburn Last Meeting

This is the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams but they obviously could meet in the SEC Tournament. Auburn won the lone matchup last season 81-66 in Columbia when it was ranked No. 16 and South Carolina unranked. Johni Broome dominated for Auburn with 27 points and 11 rebounds. The Gamecocks posted an 18-3 run and only trailed by 10 with eight minutes to go, but Auburn responded with its own 12-4 run to pull away for good. GG Jackson, now in the NBA, led the Cocks with 30 points. Meechie Johnson scored 11 points, but was 2 for 11 from the field. Auburn leads all-time 30-19 and has won the past five.

Why Bet on South Carolina Gamecocks?

No. 11 South Carolina (21-3, 9-2 SEC) won its seventh game in a row Saturday, 75-60 over Vanderbilt. The Dores led 32-28 at the break behind 46-percent shooting from the field and a 4-of-9 performance beyond the arc. South Carolina responded out of the half, going on an 8-0 run to retake the lead. The Gamecocks shot 56-percent in the second half to pull away down the stretch. South Carolina held a 31-26 advantage on the boards and recorded an assist on 21-of-30 made baskets.

Collin Murray-Boyles scored a career-high 31 points for USC in its 21st victory of the season a year after losing 21 games. The Gamecocks took control in the second half with a 24-10 run, including 12 points and a monster block from Murray-Boyles. It marked the first 30-point game by a Gamecock since Gregory “GG” Jackson II scored 30 vs. No. 16/17 Auburn on Jan. 21, 2023. Murray-Boyles has scored in double-figures in three straight games and has led Carolina in rebounding five times this season.

Murray-Boyles joined Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard as the only freshman in the SEC this season to score 20 or more points on 10 or more made field goals this season. Murray-Boyles is the first Power Five freshman since Zion Williamson in the 2019 ACC Tournament to score 25 or more points, on 13 or more made field goals while shooting 80.0 percent or higher. Murray-Boyles is just the third South Carolina player with 30 points on 80.0 percent shooting in the last 25 seasons (Chris Silva in 2019 and Laimonas Chatkevicius in 2016). He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday.

Forward B.J. Mack finished with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed six boards. Mack has scored in double-figures 15 times this season and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers. Guard Ta’Lon Cooper led the Gamecocks with seven assists and no turnovers. He now has four games this season with 5+ helpers and no turnovers. Guard Meechie Johnson also dished out five assists and now has 22 helpers to just three turnovers over his last four games.

The Gamecock defense has now held 20 opponents (nine in conference play) to less than 70 points this season. Carolina entered 17th nationally and 1st in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.1 points per game. The Garnet & Black are now 16-0 this year when scoring 70 or more points and 9-0 when holding opponents to 60 or less.

USC’s seven-game SEC winning streak is the longest in the league and it’s the ninth seven-game or better win streak in the SEC since the 2019-20 season. The Gamecocks’ 9-2 start is just the third 9-2 or better start all-time in SEC play for them and first since 2015-16. Carolina is 4-1 in league play on the road this season, the highest win percentage away from home in the SEC.

Why Bet on Auburn Tigers?

Auburn (19-5, 8-3 SEC) had a three-game winning streak snapped Saturday in an 81-65 blowout loss at Florida. Facing the No. 2-rated defensive team in the country, the Gators shot 52 percent over the first 30 minutes to build a 29-point lead. Auburn, which three nights earlier demolished rival, SEC leader and 16th-ranked Alabama 99-81, shot just 42 percent for the game and made only three of 17 attempts from the 3-point arc. It was the Tigers’ 15th straight loss at Florida.

UF’s pair of starting guards in Zyon Pullin and Clayton Jr. combined for 39 points with Pullin leading the way with 20 points. Together, the Gators’ back court strung together a 11-for-27 shooting effort. By comparison, Auburn’s pair of starting guards in Tre Donaldson and Denver Jones combined for just 14 points on a 5-for-11 shooting effort.

“Florida played great. They were ready to go,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “They scored every time they touched it in the first half. There were a lot of things we talked about doing that we just did not get done. I think Florida is going to be one of the top five teams in our league. They were very physical.”

Auburn was led by forward Johni Broome, whose 14 points and seven rebounds were below the All-American candidate’s season averages. The Tigers’ other big, 6-8, 245-pound Jaylin Williams, came into the game averaging 15.6 points and 5.6 in SEC play after ripping Alabama for a career-high 26. Williams was held to six points and did not grab a rebound over 21 minutes. Williams played in his 131st career game for the Tigers, tying him with Bryce Brown for second in program history and three games behind Frankie Sullivan’s school record 134 career games. Chaney Johnson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting.

Auburn outscored Florida, 40-38, in the paint. The Tigers have outscored their opponent in the paint in 22 of 24 games this season and were even with St. Bonaventure in paint points in one of the other two games. Mississippi State is the only team to outscore Auburn in the paint this season, doing so 34-20 on Jan. 27.

AU also outscored Florida, 31-28, in bench points. The Tigers’ reserves have outscored its opponents’ bench in all but one game this season including the last 17 contests. Auburn shot 14-of-26 (53.8%) from the floor in the second half. It was the fourth time the Tigers have shot at least 50 percent for a half over the last four games.

Auburn is the only team in the country ranked in the Top 10 in KenPom’s offensive (No. 10) and defensive (No. 3) efficiency. The last 21 national champions have all finished in the Top 39 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Auburn ranks 11th in the country in scoring margin at +15.2 points per game and third in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing just 38.1 percent per game for opponents. The Tigers are 12th in the nation in assists per game (17.8) and seventh in blocks per game (6.0).

With its next win, Auburn will secure its 15th 20-win season in the program’s 118-year history. Six of those 15 20-win seasons have come in the last seven seasons under Pearl. The Tigers have won 162 games over that seven-year span.

Only 28 SEC teams have come into Neville Arena and left with a win over the last nine-plus seasons since 2014-15. Texas A&M and Ole Miss have been the most successful having won five times each.

South Carolina vs Auburn Expert Prediction

Auburn 75, South Carolina 65

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