Observations: Auburn 97, Georgia 76
Without Jaylin Williams, the Tigers made big changes to their lineup and lit up the scoreboard in a statement rivalry win on the road.
UGA mascot Spike and Auburn SF Chad Baker Mazara (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
ATHENS, Ga. — Auburn knew things had to be different Saturday night at Georgia.
The Tigers were playing in their first game without fifth-year star Jaylin Williams, who won’t miss the rest of the season with a knee injury as originally feared but is sidelined indefinitely. The starting lineup had to change. The rotations would shift.
And they were playing a Georgia team that had made a habit out of getting off to great starts at home against SEC title contenders this season. Could Auburn really afford to get into a hole like that early, on the road and without Williams?
Probably not. So, with a few extra days to prepare for the trip to Athens, Bruce Pearl and his staff came up with a different plan. Chaney Johnson would replace Williams in the starting lineup at power forward. But Chad Baker-Mazara would also come in for Chris Moore at small forward, and Aden Holloway would get a surprise start in place of Tre Donaldson at point guard — even with the latter’s recent struggles.
Baker-Mazara had a career-high 25 points. Johnson had a season-high 16 in his very first Division I start. And Holloway had his best shooting performance in two months.
“We made a bunch of changes,” Pearl would later say. “And tonight, they paid off.”
But none of the changes were as big as giving Baker-Mazara his first start of the season. He had eight points and an assist in the first five minutes.
Instead of falling behind to Georgia like other top teams had done in Stegeman Coliseum, Auburn was the aggressor. The Tigers led by double-digits for most of the first half, with Baker-Mazara scoring 18 points before halftime.
It was a huge night for the Dominican Republic native, who was playing with a lot on his heart and mind. One of his former high school coaches, Colonia (N.J.) assistant Danny Brix, died suddenly earlier this week at the age of 30.
“He had a seizure and ended up not getting well from it,” Baker-Mazara said afterwards. “He ended up dying from the impact. I just found out on my way here to Georgia. I don't know, that just motivated me.
“He was a guy who just always had my back since I left Colonia. Throughout my whole career ever since I've met him, he's just been supporting me. … Coach was there for me (and) with me today. This was for him.”
An emotionally motivated Baker-Mazara led the Tigers’ charge from the beginning. And when Georgia fought back to make it a 3-point game midway through the second half, Pearl said Baker-Mazara “rallied the troops” with a speech to his teammates.
Auburn outscored Georgia 33-15 the rest of the way. The Tigers won 97-76, scoring the most points on the Bulldogs as a program in nearly 40 years and handing their historic rivals their most lopsided loss of the season.
“It was a great win for us,” Pearl said. “You know, Georgia has been playing really well. (Georgia head coach Mike White) has still got them playing really hard. And we knew there was a big prize on our head, a big number, with the NET and our rankings.”
Instead of taking a tough loss in its first game without Williams and virtually ending its shot at an SEC title, Auburn stayed in third place — ahead of a game at tied-for-first-place Tennessee next Wednesday — with a commanding team victory.
The Tigers had four different players score 15 or more points. Their three new starters combined to shoot 61.3% from the field and 57.1% from 3-point range. They shot around those same numbers as a team… on the road… in the game immediately following a historically rough offensive performance at home against Kentucky.
“Coach emphasized, with J-Will being down, that we have to step it up,” Baker-Mazara said. “Plus, the last couple games, I felt like us guards haven't had that great of games. … But I felt like today, we contributed a little bit more, knowing we're down a man — a very important man.
“I feel like the guys are going to stay like that for the whole rest of the year, especially when we're getting close to March and the Dance.”
And, to paraphrase a go-to Pearl line: With two weeks left in SEC play, Auburn is still in position to put itself in a great position for that postseason.
Here are four Observations from Auburn’s 97-76 win over Georgia, along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and the Quote of the Night.