Quantez Robertson isn’t likely to forget LSU guard Marcus Thornton anytime soon.

Neither is any other Auburn basketball player.

Thornton’s huge 38-point game Wednesday handed Auburn its second consecutive Southeastern Conference loss. The LSU junior made jump shots from all over the court, often with defenders in his face.

Nothing Auburn did on defense seemed to faze Thornton.

“He took some tough ones and made them,” said Robertson, Auburn’s junior point guard. “And he took some (easy) ones and made them. There wasn’t much we could do.”

AU (12-6, 2-3 SEC) has to play better on defense, starting today at No. 19 Vanderbilt.

Like LSU, the Commodores boast a top-notch jump-shooter who can make shots even when defenders are in good position: Senior Shan Foster, the SEC’s second-leading scorer.

Foster leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally with 3.9 made 3-pointers per game.

So Auburn coach Jeff Lebo gave his players an unusual challenge in practice Thursday. When the scout-teamer playing Foster got the ball, it wasn’t enough to force him into a bad shot. If a defender allowed “Foster” to get a shot away, it counted as a basket.

It was a sobering reminder of Foster’s shooting ability.

“With Foster, if he gets it off from (3-point range), that’s a good shot for him,” Lebo said. “That’s just the way we have to approach it.”

Defense has been a problem for Auburn lately. The Tigers are allowing an SEC-worst 78.3 points per game in conference play, including 81 in Wednesday’s loss to LSU and 97-77 in last Saturday’s loss at Alabama.

A lack of depth and a shortage of size — AU only has two regulars taller than 6-foot-6 — is the biggest problem. A small lineup forces Lebo to mask his players’ physical shortcomings by mixing zone defenses, but with just seven scholarship players, the coach doesn’t have too many options.

“We’re very, very, very small,” Lebo said. “We have a hard time finding different ways to guard. With our depth, we can’t get out and press.

“I think we can get better, especially understanding scouting reports a little better to make guys go to Plan B a little more than they have been lately.”

Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has had a rough stretch in SEC play, despite Foster’s hot shooting.

The Commodores (17-4, 2-4 SEC) have lost four of their last five games, all against SEC opponents. But that rough patch isn’t as bad as it seems: All four losses came on the road, at Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Ole Miss.

Those four teams are a combined 43-5 at home this season.

“The SEC schedule wasn’t nice to them,” Lebo said of Vanderbilt. “They’re a team that’s ranked. They’re a team that has really played well.”

Vanderbilt is especially tough at home, where the Commodores are 13-0 this season.

Auburn, of course, is still short-handed. Center Boubacar Sylla (ankle) forward Josh Dollard (undisclosed medical issue) and guard Archie Miaway (academics) are all out for the year.

Forward Vot Barber has been sidelined since late December with a broken hand. Thursday, Lebo said Barber’s rehab is going more slowly than expected.

The junior is still wearing a cast on his broken left hand and hasn’t practiced since his injury, Dec. 29 against Towson.

“We’re doing some conditioning with him, but he hasn’t caught a ball or done much shooting or any of that kind of stuff,” Lebo said.

According to Lebo, Barber will be evaluated weekly to determine when he can remove his cast. Once that happens, he’ll need some time to readjust to the speed of the game. Lebo said Barber probably won’t be back until the middle of this month.

“As soon as the doctors feel comfortable with him getting back out there, we’ll get him out there,” Lebo said. “Then he has to feel comfortable and confident that he can be productive out there.”

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