Top 5 Plays: Ole Miss/Kentucky

What a weekend in Auburn, Alabama!!!!

For me personally, I was fortunate to be able to be back in town this weekend to see College Gameday come to town for the first time, and celebrate what Auburn Basketball has become over the last few years.

Oh yeah, Auburn beat Kentucky too.

With that in mind, I wanted to take a look back at 5 plays from last week and decided to look at some from both big wins last week against the Rebels and Wildcats.

The first 2 plays will come from the Ole Miss game.

Play #1 - Anfernee McLemore Gives Auburn Life!

Auburn doesn’t win in Oxford without Anfernee, period. McLemore made the team’s first 3 right before halftime in an otherwise miserable half for the Tigers. Auburn began chipping away but Ole Miss would go back up 17. Then, about midway through the 2nd half, the Tigers would convert a pair of And-1s, and then McLemore would hit a pair of 3s, this clip the 2nd one, to cap off a 10-0 run and bring Auburn back from 17 down to 5.

Play #2 - Isaac Okoro has that IT Factor

On the road earlier this year against South Alabama, Okoro made not 1 but 2 huge baskets. In another tight situation on the road, Okoro came up with another winning play on the road. This bucket would tie the game and he would hit the free throw which turned out to be the game winner for Auburn on Tuesday.

The last 3 plays will come from the Kentucky game.

Play #3 - Cleanup on Aisle 50 (Courtesy of Austin Wiley)

Austin Wiley was sensational for Auburn on both ends of the floor against Kentucky. He played Nick Richards tougher than most have this season, as Coach Calipari eluded to.

Wiley, along with Anfernee McLemore, held Nick Richards to half of his scoring average (7 points). Both Wiley and McLemore were great on the boards, as was Auburn in general (Auburn was +14 on the boards). Here, he gets the job done on the offensive glass, as he did several times in this game. As I mentioned in our preview Saturday morning, whoever got the best game from the big men was going to win the game Saturday. Wiley outplayed Richards and thus, Auburn won.

Play #4 - Danjel Purifoy Go-Ahead 3!

Auburn finished 6-23 from 3-point range on Saturday. Danjel Purifoy hit 3 of those 3-pointers. In regards to Auburn’s shooting from 3 on Saturday, Auburn was 3-20 from 3-point range with about 7 minutes to go. After Okoro’s 3 tied the game at 54 with 6:48 to go, the lead would change hands multiple times over the next 2:45. Kentucky led 60-59 with 3:58 left when Auburn found Purifoy open in the corner for 3. It would put Auburn up for good.

Play #5 - Isaac Okoro is OUR McDonald’s All-American!

Coming down the stretch, we saw Isaac Okoro take over and will Auburn to picking up the W. Okoro took the ball into the paint time after time, drawing foul after foul on Kentucky. With Auburn up 65-62 with about 2:45 to go, Okoro got the ball at the top and instead of taking the ball into the paint, he pulled up from 3 and Auburn Arena went crazy!

That’s all for this week. Look for more Auburn hoops coverage over the next 36 hours as we get ready for Auburn to head to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks tomorrow evening.