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

Updated Jan. 29, 2022 4:30 p.m. ET

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AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Jabari 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.

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.

Smith was just 2-of-15 shooting for five points in a 55-54 win over Missouri Tuesday. He and Kessler took over this one.

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.

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.

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.

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%).

PEARL’S DEAL

Hours before tipoff, Auburn released details of coach Bruce Pearl’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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