In the time it took you to read this sentence, Tay Waller hit another 3-pointer.Waller had a career night Saturday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, making eight 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 32 points.
That's three straight wins for Auburn, the second time Jeff Lebo has won three straight conference games in five years on the Plains. It's the latest in the season that the Tigers (16-9, 5-5 SEC) are at .500 in the conference since 2003.
“It looks like we’re playing with a little bit of confidence right now,” Lebo said. “We can’t let it go if we lose a game. We can’t be fragile with that.
As I mentioned in my story tomorrow, this kind of game from Waller was commonplace at Okaloosa-Walton College in Florida last year.
“Yeah, but it was in juco,” Lebo said, offering an analogy. “I scored a lot in high school. It’s just different.”
Waller's previous career-high was 22, set against Mercer and Alabama. He had struggled recently, going 8 for his last 39 from long range before busting out Saturday.
“It felt really good to do it here for the first time,” Waller said. “The coaches knew I could do it, so I’m glad they stuck with me and believed in me.”
Some quick thoughts ...
- Waller was unbelievable. He made his first five 3-pointers, helping Auburn build a 17-point first-half lead. He hit them from all angles. “He’s got an ability to do that,” Lebo said. “That’s why I give him a little more leeway there because that’s what he does. My college coach,” he added, referring to Dean Smith, “he wouldn’t play for him.”
- Auburn went 24-for-32 from the line, not bad for the worst free throw shooting team in the SEC. Korvotney Barber, one of the worst offenders, was 7-for-8.
- Frankie Sullivan came up big off the bench, scoring 14 points, eight of which came on a key 18-4 second-half run. He played some outstanding defense too.
- Mississippi State likes its 3's. The Bulldogs took 35 of them. Made 10, which wasn't nearly enough. But they've got a good style of play, with one big man (Jarvis Varnado) and four guards. I can see why this team gives so many opponents trouble.
- So what now for Auburn? Well, this team has a good chance of finishing .500 in the SEC, a big accomplishment for this group. The Tigers travel next to Georgia, which just got finished upsetting Florida. With two more home games and a road game at Alabama, getting to eight or nine conference wins is conceivable.
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