Tuesday’s game against Presbyterian had an unusual feel for the Auburn basketball team: For once, the Tigers stepped onto the floor with a serious height advantage.
It was a strange sight: Auburn’s four-guard lineup has been out-sized in almost every game this season, but looked downright massive compared to the diminutive Blue Hose.
With the size advantage under its belt, AU probably didn’t need any other breaks to beat PC.
But a hot shooting night proved a second big boost, as the Tigers cruised to a 78-65 win Tuesday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, their third consecutive victory.
Auburn (12-5) hit 26 of its 50 shots, including 9-of-16 from 3-point range. The Tigers also looked comfortable with their unaccustomed size advantage: AU outrebounded Presbyterian, 39-22.
The Blue Hose (2-21) had only one starter taller than 6-foot-4 and didn’t manage an offensive rebound until 3:43 remained in the second half.
The Tigers’ dominance was a welcome sight to head coach Jeff Lebo. Coming off an emotional 3-point win against Ole Miss last Saturday, and with a big game at Alabama looming this Saturday, Lebo worried his team would lack focus against Presbyterian.
“I always worry about these type of games,” Lebo said. “This was kind of a maturity test for our team. I talked a lot about it the last two days.
As it turned out, Lebo had very little to worry about.
Guard Rasheem Barrett made sure of that.
Barrett scored a team-high 24 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds to pick up his second career double-double. He admitted he was worried about the Tigers’ focus against overmatched Presbyterian, which entered Tuesday’s game 0-20 on the road.
“Any player in the country will tell you, it’s extremely hard,” Barrett said. “You’ve got to find some way to stay excited, to stay pumped.”
He found his inspiration in Lebo — more accurately, in the head coach’s threat to make the team run to pay for in-game mistakes.
“I don’t want to go to practice and have Coach Lebo run the mess out us,” Barrett said with a smile. “He scared me on the bench — I looked over and he was foaming at the mouth.”
So, Barrett said, he made sure to deliver a message to his teammates.
“I told them, ‘I don’t want to run,’” Barrett said.
Barrett was one of four Tigers to score in double figures. Point guard DeWayne Reed scored 12 points, reserve big man Matt Heramb had 11 and forward Quan Prowell finished with 10.
Freshman center Boubacar Sylla participated in pregame warmups, but did not play. Sylla hasn’t played since a one-minute stint Nov. 16 against Alabama State. The 7-foot-1 Sylla suffered a stress reaction in his left knee in the previous game, a Nov. 13 win against Kennesaw State.
Lebo said Sylla still has “a little bit of a limp,” but said the freshman might play soon.
“He’s getting a little bit better in practice,” Lebo said. “He’s wanting to play, so we may see how he does in the next couple of days in practice.”

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