Former Auburn running back, and 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson returned to his alma mater Wednesday night as the 13th-ranked Auburn’s men’s basketball team hosted the 11th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in a key SEC matchup.

Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl didn’t mince words ahead of Wednesday’s date with South Carolina.

“If we want to win the (SEC) championship, we have to beat South Carolina tomorrow,” Pearl said Tuesday. “Pretty simple.”

Fortunately for Auburn, the Tigers were playing the game at Neville Arena, where they entered the night 12-0 on the season.

And against South Carolina, Jackson decided he wanted to be part of the Neville Arena magic and joined Auburn’s student section, affectionately known as The Jungle, for the first half of Wednesday night’s game.

Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze was also site for Wednesday night’s game and joined Jackson in The Jungle for much of the opening half. Together, while cheering for the Tigers, Freeze and Jackson took countless selfies with fans as Auburn sprinted out to a 50-28 halftime lead over South Carolina.