AUBURN — As sophomore point guard Tre Donaldson used a screen from Dylan Cardwell to drive right, senior forward Jaylin Williams snuck behind USC's defense and bolted toward the basket.

Williams didn't even have to signal for it. Donaldson knew what he wanted, lofting a pass near the rim for Williams to snare out of the air and throw down to give Auburn basketball a 13-point lead over the Trojans on Sunday. The Tigers controlled the rest of the way, picking up a 91-75 win to give them their 34th victory inside of Neville Arena in their last 36 tries.

The alley oop to Williams was Donaldson's fourth assist of the first half. He jogged back down the court and put his hands around his eyes in a circular manner, simulating the act of wearing a pair of binoculars.

Donaldson finished with five assists, and five-star freshman Aden Holloway had six.

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That one-two punch at point guard − Holloway is the starter, and Donaldson comes off the bench − has combined for 78 points, 23 assists and three turnovers over Auburn's last three games. The duo has shot 54.9% from the field, 46.2% from beyond the 3-point arc and 83.3% from the foul line over that 120-minute stretch.

Aside from a season-opening loss to Baylor on Nov. 7 and an uncharacteristic shooting performance against Appalachian State on Dec. 3, the Tigers have looked like an elite team with an average margin of victory of 21.5 points this season.

Much of that success can be tied to the play of Auburn's PGs.

"They value possessions, and they also understand advantage/disadvantage in transition," coach Bruce Pearl said postgame. "When we had the advantage, they went and took advantage of it. When we didn’t, they ran something. That’s just really good discipline."

The Tigers, who lost at USC last season, look like a different team from a year ago.

“USC pressed us early, and we scored both times early against the pressure," Pearl said. "They bothered us a little bit with the press last year. We turned the ball over 20 or 21 times at USC last year. Same system. ... We took better care of the ball. They shared it."

The commanding play of Auburn's point guards came against a notable team, too. The Trojans have one of the nation's most talented back courts, featuring Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis. Collier was tabbed as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2023, and Ellis is averaging 21.4 points per game.

USC is also home to Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.

"Does it get you a little bit more hyped up playing against good players? Yeah," Holloway admitted postgame. "Does it matter? No. The only thing that matters is just getting the win. That’s the whole focus going into it.

"But of course, it’s going to get you a little juiced up and just ready to play."

Juiced up or not, if Holloway and Donaldson continue to be elite, the Tigers, who are up to No. 8 in KenPom, can beat just about anyone.

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

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: How Aden Holloway, Tre Donaldson make Auburn basketball an elite team