CINCINNATI, OHIO---Tying their best start in program history against cross-town rival Cincinnati last Saturday (10-0), the 2015-2016 Xavier Musketeers had an opportunity to be alone in the history books with a victory over Kareem Canty's Auburn Tigers.

Not a problem!

Starting with a pair of treys from Trevon Bluiett and Remy Abell, Xavier immediately found the course to their third SEC victory and eleventh consecutive as the Musketeers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Following the success from beyond the arc, the frontcourt flexed their muscles with the next ten points (6 from James Farr and 4 by Jalen Reynolds), which increased their lead to 12 heading into the under 12 media timeout (18-6).

Thankfully for Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, Marshall transfer and leading scorer Kareem Canty finally found the bottom of the net with the next 11 Tigers' points. 

11 straight points from their superstar? Auburn must have been back in the game, right? 

Wrong! The Tigers were actually trailing by 13 (30-17) with 6:33 remaining in the first half. However, following the personal lifting from Canty, a more balanced scoring attack was seen by Auburn leading to a deficit withering to 9 heading into halftime (39-30).

On Thanksgiving, Xavier, facing the Alabama Crimson Tide in an Advocare Invitational quarterfinal, allowed their opponent to stick around in the first half prior to completely dismantling them in the second. Today was a carbon copy of the performance.

Netting 6 of his team's first 11 second-half points, Xavier's Bluiett led his team on a 11-4 run to re-up their lead to 16. 

Even with the Tigers' Cinmeon Bowers becoming a more viable option to complement Canty, the 5th foul on guard Tyler Harris early in the second twenty minutes (12:07 left in regulation) acted as the last nail in the coffin, for Auburn bucketed only 17 points the rest of the game. Without the Providence transfer on the court, Auburn's deficit grew larger and larger until the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read: Auburn 61, Xavier 85. 

Balanced Across the Board

From 18 points produced by starter Jalen Reynolds to 10 by Sean O'Mara, the 10th ranked Xavier Musketeers continued to showcase their balanced scoring attack. This afternoon, Xavier had five players in double-figures (Reynolds-18, Bluiett-13, Edmond Sumner-13, Farr-12, and O'Mara-10), which in fact, out-scored the whole Auburn team by five! The 11-0 Musketeers will come upon their last obsticle prior to Big East play on Tuesday night in the form of Wake Forest.

Canty Carrying the Load

Thank you Kareem Canty! Why? Because if it was not for the "jazzy junior" this matchup would have gotten much uglier! Posting his fifth game with over twenty points (25 today), the 6'1" point guard did all he could to keep Auburn in the game. How? He shot an efficient 8 for 16 from the floor while grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing 4 assists. But the problem, of course, was not with him, but the disappearance of his fellow playmakers (Harris, Bowers, and T.J. Dunans) as they combined for a measly 26 points (17 less than their season average). The 5-3 Tigers finish off non-conference schedule with three games in Honolulu, Hawaii, as a part of the 2015 Diamond Head Classic (VAVEL USA will supply post-game coverage of all 12 games from the Stan Sheriff Center starting Tuesday).