Auburn used a dominant rebounding performance in its last game to get its first victory on an opponent’s home court.
It will need a similar performance if it’s going to be successful on Saturday when it visits No. 16 Florida in Gainesville, Fla.
The Gators (14-5, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) lead the country in rebounding margin (plus-15.8). They out-rebounded LSU 50-30, including a 24-7 advantage in offensive rebounds, in a 79-61 home victory Tuesday night.
Center Rueben Chinyelu tied a career high with 21 rebounds and scored 15 points.
“You’re seeing a guy that has continued to grow and get better in real time, and he’s impacting the game tremendously,” Florida coach Todd Golden said of the 6-foot-10, 265-pound Chinyelu. “He’s just playing with such good balance and toughness. … He’s just really come into his own and become a real stalwart for us in the frontcourt.”
Chinyelu leads the SEC and is fourth in the country in rebounds per game (11.2). He had 11 of the Gators’ offensive rebounds against LSU, leading to a 21-10 edge in second-chance points. He leads the conference with 11 double-doubles, including in four straight games.
“(I’m) just trying to go out there and play and if that happens, it happens,” Chinyelu said. “I’ll take that, but most importantly just making sure that we get the W.”
Florida has won five games in a row to remain in a share of first place in the SEC.
The Gators’ rebounding allowed them to remain in contention even when they aren’t shooting their best. They easily handled LSU even though they shot just 41.2% from the floor and 51.9% on free throws.
“The ceiling is high for us,” guard Boogie Fland said.
Auburn’s ceiling is looking higher of late as these Tigers (12-7, 3-3) have won three of their last four after a 78-66 victory at Ole Miss on Tuesday.
KeShawn Murphy, like Chinyelu on the same night, matched a career high with 14 rebounds and Auburn enjoyed a 42-26 advantage on the boards.
“He had a different level of focus with how intentional he was with being a presence on the inside,” Tigers coach Steven Pearl said. “He played phenomenal.”
Murphy added 16 points for his second double-double of the season, but Auburn had its second consecutive poor shooting game. The Tigers made just 2 of 17 from 3-point range against Ole Miss after sinking 2 of 19 in a win versus South Carolina.
In addition to the big advantage on the boards, the Tigers made 32 of 39 free throws, including 23 of 28 in the second half. They scored the game’s final seven points at the line.
Leading scorer Keyshawn Hall made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line as he bounced back from a foul-plagued eight-point performance against South Carolina to score 19, one below his average.
Tahaad Pettiford added 17 points and led the team with three assists. His steadying influence will be important if Auburn is to continue its newfound success on the road at Florida.
“He played with great poise and great tempo,” Pearl said of Pettiford. “On the road, that’s what we need from him to keep us settled down.”
–Field Level Media
