Takeaways from Auburn basketball's 80-61 win over Jacksonville State

The Auburn Tigers earned a win over the Gamecocks in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Tournament.

One down.

The Tigers defeated Jacksonville State by 19 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The first half wasn't the prettiest, but Auburn controlled the majority of the game and got out with a solid victory.

The dynamic front court duo of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler once again made their presence known, scoring a combined 33 points (on 12-of-24 shooting), 24 rebounds, five assists, and an average plus/minus of +18.5.

While they weren't scoring in bunches, guards Wendell Green Jr. (9 pts, 6 ast), KD Johnson (10 pts, 7 ast) and Zep Jasper (6 pts, 4 ast) all had solid outings. Overall, despite a couple of offensive lulls, it was an efficient win.

Here are five takeaways from Auburn's win over the Gamecocks.

Resiliency is key in March

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The Tigers started the game out a little slow, mainly because Jacksonville State was making everything they were throwing up. Auburn maintained composure and got back into the game, eventually claiming a 39-27 lead at the halftime break.

Auburn led by as many as 21 in the second, but the Gamecocks came roaring back and cut the lead to 12 midway through the half. Once again, the Tigers tightened up defensively, and Jabari Smith casually ended a man's career in the final minute of the game.

Auburn is going to need to continue to be resilient when things get rough moving forward. They can't allow Texas A&M to happen again.

Auburn shut down the main cog of Jax State's offense

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Darian Adams, the focal point of the Jacksonville State offensive attack, was held to 8 points on 3-of-14 shooting. He is the team's primary scorer, ball-handler, and distributor. Auburn did a great job of making sure he never got into a rhythm, and by default, the Gamecocks' offense scored 61 points.

Discipline was important

© Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

There were only a combined 18 turnovers between Auburn and Jax State (8 JSU, 11 AU). Where the Tigers gained an advantage was on the glass (+18 rebounding margin, 18 second chance points) and distributing the ball to teammates (23 assists as opposed to JSU's 9.)

Jabari Smith couldn't be stopped

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

After watching film on JSU, it was clear that they didn't have an individual player that could guard Smith from a size standpoint. Smith was about three inches taller than his defenders in this game, and he ended up shooting very well because of it (6-of-13 from the floor, 4-of-7 from deep) and dropping 20 points on the Gamecocks.

The Tigers got out and ran

© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Auburn finished with 25 fast break points, much more than usual.

If the half court game isn't there against USC or Miami, the Tigers could really benefit from getting some buckets in transition. They have the personnel to do it. Some better three point shooting would aid them.

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