AUBURN — Talk about a bounceback.

Coming off their worst loss of the season in terms of margin of defeat − Auburn basketball was throttled by 16 points at Florida on Saturday, and the final score in Gainesville didn't quite do the beatdown justice − the Tigers rebounded as well as they could have with an easy 101-61 win over South Carolina in Neville Arena on Wednesday.

The Tigers and Gamecocks are now tied for second place in the SEC standings, both a half game back on leader Alabama. South Carolina (21-4, 9-3 SEC) had won seven straight games before running into Auburn (20-5, 9-3), including an impressive 63-59 triumph at Tennessee on Jan. 30.

All of Auburn's wins this season have come by double digits, with the closest margin being an 11-point win against Texas A&M in January. The Tigers remain the only team in the SEC with an unblemished record at home.

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Auburn basketball's Jaylin Williams leads effort early vs. South Carolina

The loss to Florida was a low point for the Tigers as a whole, but it was also the worst game of the season for senior forward Jaylin Williams. Williams, the second leading scorer for Auburn, scored just six points on 30% against the Gators, and he turned the ball over twice.

That was far from the case versus South Carolina, as Williams registered 16 first-half points on 85.7% shooting. Williams missed his first 3-pointer, but he went on to make his next four attempts.

Tigers heat up from deep

Auburn connected on 60% of its shots from long range, with Williams and All-SEC big man Johni Broome accounting for nine of those makes. Broome hit a career-best four to help him score a 21 points. Williams had a game-high 23.

Suffocating defense

South Carolina only had 13 turnovers, which isn't an exorbitant amount, but Auburn turned those giveaways into 25 extra points. The Gamecocks opened the game by making their first three shots, but finished with a 34.6% mark from the field.

Next up on Auburn basketball's schedule

The Tigers will stay at home in Neville Arena for a matchup with Kentucky on Saturday (5 p.m. CT, ESPN). The Wildcats are coming off a game Tuesday in which they beat Ole Miss by 12 points.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball beats South Carolina to earn pivotal SEC win