Filip Jović Breaks Out as Auburn Grinds Out Crucial Win Over South Carolina
Filip Jović has been trending upward for Auburn over the last few games, but Saturday night? That was his coming-out party. In a gritty 71-67 win over South Carolina, the Serbian freshman didn’t just step up - he owned the moment.
With Auburn’s leading scorer Keyshawn Hall battling foul trouble and limited to just 14 minutes, Jović took center stage and delivered his best performance yet in a Tigers uniform. He played the entire second half, poured in 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and made one thing clear: Auburn has another weapon in its frontcourt.
Jović’s Signature Game
From the opening tip, Jović brought energy and physicality that Auburn desperately needed. When he checked out with eight minutes left in the first half, Auburn was up by seven.
Without him, the Tigers’ momentum fizzled, and South Carolina clawed its way back into the game. But the moment Jović returned?
Auburn's energy flipped like a switch.
His and-one finish late in the first half gave Auburn its largest lead to that point, and he never looked back. Early in the second half, he bullied South Carolina’s EJ Walker in the post and threw down a two-handed dunk that put the Tigers back up by nine. A few possessions later, Tahaad Pettiford found him on a slick interior pass for another bucket, again stretching Auburn’s lead to its high-water mark.
But the highlight of the night - and maybe his young Auburn career - came with under five minutes to play. Jović picked off a pass, took it coast-to-coast, and hammered home a two-hand dunk in transition.
That play pushed Auburn ahead 60-49 and sent Neville Arena into a frenzy. It wasn’t just a big moment - it was a statement.
And make no mistake, Jović made plenty of them Saturday night.
Auburn Wins Ugly - But Wins
This wasn’t a pretty game. Both teams looked stuck in the mud offensively for much of the night.
South Carolina opened the game shooting 4-of-22 from the field and missed its first eight 3-point attempts. Auburn wasn’t much better, especially from deep - the Tigers finished just 2-of-19 from beyond the arc.
But Auburn’s advantage came where it often does: in the paint. The Tigers outscored South Carolina 42-26 down low, using their size and strength to compensate for cold perimeter shooting. That edge was critical in a game where every possession felt like a battle.
South Carolina made things interesting late, cutting what had been a 7-point Auburn lead with two minutes left down to just three. But Kevin Overton hit a clutch 3 - Auburn’s second of the game - to give the Tigers some breathing room.
Even then, the Gamecocks kept coming. Myles Stute buried a triple, and a late Auburn turnover gave South Carolina a chance to tie it.
But the Tigers held their nerve. Hall, despite his limited minutes, hit four big free throws down the stretch.
Then, with four seconds left and Auburn clinging to a two-point lead, South Carolina fouled Overton before Auburn could inbound. He knocked down both shots to ice the game.
Frontcourt Depth Shines Without Hall
Hall’s absence was felt - three fouls in the first half, including a charge, forced Auburn’s top scorer to the bench for long stretches. And when he did return in the second half, another offensive foul cut his minutes short again.
But Auburn’s frontcourt didn’t flinch. Jović led the charge, but he wasn’t alone.
Sebastian Williams-Adams and KeShawn Murphy combined for 22 points, with Williams-Adams especially active on the offensive glass. His second-chance buckets in the second half helped Auburn maintain its edge when South Carolina threatened to swing the momentum.
That kind of production - and resilience - from the frontcourt is what Auburn needs as it navigates the grind of SEC play.
Pettiford Brings the Fire on Defense
Tahaad Pettiford didn’t light up the scoreboard, but he brought the kind of defensive energy Auburn’s staff has been asking for. After a disappointing showing at Missouri earlier in the week, assistant coach Steven Pearl challenged his team to respond - and Pettiford did just that.
Early in the game, he had a block and a forced turnover on the baseline that fired up the bench and set the tone. He finished with five assists, two blocks, and just one turnover - which didn’t come until the final two minutes.
His shooting wasn’t there (2-of-8 from the field), but his defensive presence and floor leadership were exactly what Auburn needed in a tight game.
What’s Next
With the win, Auburn improves to 2-3 in SEC play and grabs some much-needed momentum heading into a tough stretch of road games. This wasn’t a flawless performance - the shooting woes from deep are still a concern - but the grit, the defensive effort, and the emergence of Filip Jović are all reasons for optimism.
Saturday night was a reminder that in the SEC, it’s not always about style points. Sometimes, you just have to find a way. And thanks to Jović’s breakout and a collective frontcourt effort, Auburn did just that.