Smith, No. 1 Auburn pull away from Oklahoma 86-68

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Oklahoma guard Marvin Johnson (5) goes up for a shot as Auburn forward Jabari Smith (10) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

AUBURN, Ala. ā€“ Jabari Smith and Auburn made much easier work of their second game as the nation's top-ranked team.

Smith bounced back from a rough shooting night with 23 points and 12 rebounds and Walker Kessler scored 21 to lead No. 1 Auburn to an 86-68 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday.

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ā€œKnowing how we played against Missouri, we were just ready to bounce back,ā€ Smith said.

The Tigers (20-1) built a big lead, lost most of it and then dominated the final minutes for their nation-leading 17th consecutive win. The Sooners (13-8) visited as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

ā€œWe had an advantage in the front line and we took advantage of our advantage,ā€ said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who agreed to a new contract on the eve of the game. ā€œJabari Smith and Walker Kessler were dominant in there, and that was really a key.ā€

Smith was just 2-of-15 shooting for five points in a 55-54 win over Missouri Tuesday. The freshman, a potential No. 1 overall draft pick, and Kessler took over this one. Afterward, Pearl said it's ā€œthe best front-court Iā€™ve ever coached.ā€

The 7-foot-1 Kessler was 9 of 11 from the floor, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots. He also hit his fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the season.

ā€œThey never told me not to shoot. They told me to shoot every time,ā€ Kessler said. ā€œAs a shooter and as a player, it helps you a lot, puts confidence in you. Youā€™re bound to make a couple.ā€

K.D. Johnson scored 13 after producing the last five points in the Missouri win.

Jordan Goldwire led Oklahoma with a career-high 19 points. Umoja Gibson scored 14 points and Tanner Groves had 13.

ā€œI liked that we kept on fighting back in the first 30 minutes,ā€ Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. ā€œMan, they make runs and then we fought back. They make runs. They make tough shots. They make a dunk, and the crowd goes nuts and we kept on fighting back."

But, he added, "We had five unacceptable turnovers away from the bench against the press. Unacceptable.ā€

Auburn pushed a 12-point halftime lead to 14 coming out of the locker room.

Oklahoma whittled it down to 50-47 on Gibson's baseline layup with 12:24 to play. Gibson also fueled the aborted comeback with a 3-pointer, drawing a foul and converting the four-point play at the foul line.

It was all Auburn from there, including Kessler's second 3.

ā€œObviously itā€™s frustrating,ā€ Goldwire said. ā€œWeā€™ve played with Baylor, Kansas and now Auburn. I think those are all games that we could have won that didnā€™t go our way.ā€

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma lost for the second time this season to a No. 1 team, including an 84-74 defeat to currently fourth-ranked Baylor on Jan. 4. Didn't get its first rebound for nearly 6 minutes to open the game and went 9:21 without a basket during another first-half stretch.

Auburn withstood every challenge in its first home game as a No. 1 team. Dominated the boards 41-29 and made 22 of 26 free throws (84.6%). Scored more against Oklahoma than any other team this season.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

It's not a conference game, but Pearl emphasized that "this Challenge matters.

ā€œIt matters on Selection Sunday," he said. "What we did, being one of the top teams in the SEC, we just held serve.ā€

PEARLā€™S DEAL

Hours before tipoff, Auburn released details of Pearlā€™s new 8-year, $50.2 million contract. His annual pay starts at $5.4 million with an annual $250,000 raise.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma hosts TCU on Monday night.

Auburn tries for a season sweep of in-state rival Alabama at home Tuesday night.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25


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