No. No. 2 Auburn will likely take the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll after escaping 66-63 with a win over South Carolina in Columbia on Saturday afternoon.
Nick Pringle missed two free throws with 9.8 seconds left that could have given the Gamecocks the lead. But he rushed for the rebound on his second miss and forced a jump ball with Chaney Johnson. Auburn gained possession and South Carolina made a mistake. Tahaad Pettiford made both free throws to give the Tigers a three-point cushion at 66-63.
South Carolina had a chance to tie the game with 4.4 seconds left in regulation, but Morris Ugusuk missed a long three-point attempt at the buzzer.
The Tigers’ win comes days after No. 1 Tennessee fell to No. 6 Florida on Wednesday in Gainesville. South Carolina’s last win over a team ranked in the top two in the AP poll came in January 2010 over then-No. 1 Kentucky, whose roster included John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
Collin Murray-Boyles scored 25 points with seven rebounds to lead the unranked Gamecocks. Arden Conyers added 13 points off the bench and shot 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. Nick Pringle followed with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, who improved to 11-5 overall.
Auburn was led by Pettiford’s 15 points, followed by Miles Kelly who scored 14. The Tigers played most of the second half without leading scorer Johni Broome, who rolled his ankle when he landed on Murray-Boyles’ foot while looking for a rebound.
Johni Broome lies on the ground holding his left ankle.
It appears he landed awkwardly on the foot of a South Carolina player. The Auburn training staff helped Broome from the floor to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/xkz76h5X0v
— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) January 11, 2025
Auburn didn’t have any players score in double figures as the Gamecocks went into halftime with a 40-34 lead. Broome, who entered Saturday averaging 18.7 points per game, had four points on 2-for-8 shooting. Meanwhile, Murray-Boyles led all scorers in the first half with 18 points for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks have now lost their first three games in SEC play to start the season, before falling to No. 17 Mississippi State and No. 5 Alabama.
Auburn next hosts Mississippi State on Tuesday, while South Carolina looks for its first conference victory on Wednesday at Vanderbilt.
