Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl told everyone who would listen that Tuesday’s game against Missouri was a must-win situation. His players took his edict seriously by jumping out to a 45-18 lead in the first half en route to an 89-56 victory in front of sold-out Neville Arena.

“Well, we played really well tonight. I don’t like talking about this being a must-win,” Pearl told reporters. “I was going to be honest with you guys, and I’m going, to be honest with my team.”

K.D Johnson scored 14 of his 15 points in the first half to help Auburn garner an insurmountable lead.

Johni Broome had 11 in the first half and finished the night with 20 points on 8-13 shooting. His 10 rebounds gave the big man a double-double. Auburn ended a tough three-game losing skid with a win against a Missouri team that entered the contest winners in four of their last five games.

Auburn is 8-5 in conference play and 18-8 on the season. The loss drops Missouri to 7-6 in Southeastern Conference action. Auburn entered the game tied for fourth place with Missouri and Kentucky. Getting the win puts Auburn in sole possession of fourth place, with Kentucky playing Mississippi State tomorrow. If Kentucky loses and Tennessee drops its game tomorrow against No. 1 Alabama, the Tigers could wake up Thursday morning in a tie for third place in the conference.

Auburn’s next game is a road game on Saturday at Vanderbilt. Auburn will have Wednesday off and will get back in the gym on Thursday evening and Friday morning before traveling to Nashville for the game against the Commodores.

“Our guys are tired. They’re tired. Look at the road we’ve had,” Pearl said. We’ve played some great, physical teams with a lot of travel and a short prep after the Alabama game.”

Let’s get into some observations from the Auburn win.

Defense was the key

Auburn held Missouri to 18 points in the first half and 56 for the game. Missouri averages over 80 points per game and are one of the conference’s best offensive teams. Auburn prides itself on defense and, after the win, became 14-1 in games when the opponent scores fewer than 73 points.

“So we said, ‘Can we hold Missouri to under 73? If we do, we’ll win the game.’ It’s not often that you can give your guys a guarantee like that,” Pearl said.

Johnson was locked in on offense

Johnson was 4-6 from three on his way to 15 points. His performance played a significant role in the Tigers taking the early lead. Auburn got off to a 19-2 run capped by Johnson’s three at the 13:06 mark in the first half, with the crowd going wild.

“K.D. can shoot like that when he’s got lift on it,” Pearl said. “K.D. doesn’t trust me all the time. But I talked to him about it.”

Flanigan slam

Allen Flanigan had 16 points on 6-7 shooting and 1-2 from the field. But no play had more impact than his dunk that pushed Auburn’s lead to 30-6 with nine minutes left in the first half. Flanigan soared in the air and dunked on two Missouri players.

Flanigan’s dunk sent the crowd and the Tiger bench into a frenzy.

“I almost got a tech for running on the court,” Johnson said. Dylan grabbed me and held me for like 10 seconds. That’s got to be a top play on SportsCenter.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.