In the highly anticipated matchup welcoming a handful of NBA prospects to town, Auburn proved to be the better team in a 91-75 win over USC.

Students showed up to Auburn over their winter break hours in advance of the Neville Arena doors even opening on Sunday morning. They were loud just as head coach Bruce Pearl asked throughout the day as Auburn cruised for much of the afternoon.

The crowd lived up to the hype ahead of this game. And Auburn made a statement as it barrels toward SEC play.

Auburn is now 8-2. It will play three more non-conference games before beginning SEC play on Jan. 6. USC was Auburn’s last non-conference game against a major conference team. In its five games against major conference teams, Auburn went 4-1.

Despite a roster full of highly-rated recruits, USC is now 5-5.

Here are three takeaways:

Auburn completely out-muscled USC in the paint

At least on paper, USC had a size advantage over Auburn. But size doesn’t necessarily equal strength, and Auburn’s physicality and strength were far greater than that of USC even if they were smaller.

Auburn’s defense succeeded with its physicality, especially on the glass. Ten different Auburn players had a rebound. Every USC shot was contested and often came with contact — albeit that led Auburn into foul trouble early on.

It took a very talented USC team and disrupted its rhythm.

On the other end, Auburn got whatever it wanted in the paint. Big men Johni Broom and Jaylin Williams consistently found open shots on the interior. Auburn scored 42 of its 91 in the paint.

Broome, Williams and center Dylan Cardwell combined for 36 points.

Cardwell himself had two big back-to-back interior plays: a dunk on one end and a block on the other.

They were two plays emblematic of Auburn’s muscle. USC didn’t have an answer.

Auburn’s physicality advantage also led to a 10-point margin in terms of points in the paint.

Auburn’s guards matched up to USC’s NBA prospects

The hype around this game largely surrounded Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.

But USC’s best talent comes in the form of projected first-round draft picks Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis.

Collier and Ellis showed exactly why Pearl called them the best backcourt Auburn might face all year. It’s not much of a question why those two deserve to be considered so highly by the large number of NBA scouts in attendance for Sunday’s game.

The duo combined for 35 points.

But Auburn’s backcourt met the challenge.

Point guard duo Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson once again were highly efficient and sound play bringing the ball up the floor.

They combined for 22 points and had 11 assists against one turnover.

Neville Arena showed up. The recruits saw it.

On Sunday, multiple national outlet’s social media accounts reposted a video showing the line of students waiting to get into Neville Arena. In reality, what was impressive was the return of students over winter break at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday.

This was a big game, regardless of how much some headlines made it about James alone. Auburn students knew about the talent on USC’s roster. They knew this was Auburn’s biggest non-conference game at home this season.

So they showed up. And on a day that was dubbed the “hottest ticket” in Neville Arena history by Pearl, the entire Neville Arena crowd showcased what makes this one of the best atmospheres in the SEC.

A slew of highly rated football recruits saw that crowd, highlighted by 5-star wide receiver and current Alabama commit Ryan Williams.

Students chanted “We want Ryan” at him multiple times in the first half with “Freeze Warning” signs and head coach Hugh Freeze in attendance as part of the recruiting effort. Starting safety Jaylin Simpson and starting guard Kam Stutts were in the crowd with recruits, too.

It was just as big a day for football as for basketball. National Signing Day is Wednesday. Freeze hopes the energy Sunday turns into success then, too.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]