Takeaways from Auburn basketball's 94-80 win over Vanderbilt

The Auburn Tigers rebounded from a nasty first half to pick up a 14 point win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Auburn answered the bell.

The Tigers (24-2, 12-1 SEC) have not been shooting well as of late, especially from beyond the arc. Against one of the better defenses in the SEC, Auburn responded well tonight by dropping 94 points on the Commodores.

It was the star-studded front court that stole the show for Auburn once again, with Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith combining for 53 points on the game.

The backcourt struggled a little bit, but point guard Wendell Green Jr. finished with a near triple-double, scoring 12 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing 9 assists.

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

Vanderbilt played the first half of their life

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The Commodores came out of the gates on fire, shooting 52.2% from the floor in the first half. Auburn had a difficult time staying ahead of Vanderbilt's constant rim attacks, and it led to a lot of free throws. Vandy also shot 4-of-7 from deep in the first half.

The Tigers, as expected, are going to get everyone's best game for the rest of the season. SEC play has been no joke, and the first half struggles have been a common theme for Auburn.

The officiating was, once again, incredibly suspect

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It's no secret that college basketball officiating is not consistent, nor is the overall product good. There were a combined 50 fouls called in this game (27 on Auburn, 23 on Vanderbilt), and a lot of them were weak touch fouls. 

Early in the game, the officials were calling everything. Then they called nothing for a few minutes. Later, to start the second half, they started calling extremely tight again. 

It makes the game frustrating to watch, play, and enjoy when the officiating crew decides to take over a game like they did in this match. Changes need to be made.

The Commodores ask Pippen to do too much

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Pippen took 18 of the Commodores 56 shots, and held onto the ball for about half of the game. 

The horns offense that head coach Jerry Stackhouse likes to run will never be consistently efficient with the ball hog style of guard play Vandy currently has (Vanderbilt is 191st nationally or worse in field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, and free throw shooting percentage). 

Pippen will likely end up being a decent NBA player, but Stackhouse may need to consider moving the ball around a little more to improve his offense.

Auburn got out of their shooting slump

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The Tigers have shot the ball poorly for six straight games, and tonight, it seemed like the team took the "take it until you make it" approach, throwing up threes and surprisingly knocking them down with consistency. 

Auburn shot 31-of-53 (58.5%) from the floor, and 11-of-22 from three (50.0%). The Commodores don't have a weak defense, either. Vanderbilt is 50th nationally in defensive efficiency, and 23rd nationally in opponent three point field goal percentage (29.7%). Hopefully Auburn can now warm back up as the regular season comes to a close.

Have a day, Jabari Smith

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Future lottery pick Jabari Smith played exceptionally well for the Tigers. Smith finished with a career-high 31 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor, and an impressive 7-of-10 from three. 

Auburn desperately needed someone to come alive from beyond the arc, and Jabari Smith answered the call.