The No. 2 seed Auburn Tigers took on the No. 15 seed Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Tigers took care of business, winning the game 80-61.
Aside from the Gamecocks keeping it close early in the first half, this game was dominated by the Tigers as they were led by top NBA prospect Jabari Smith.
Smith had an excellent game, finishing the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds including this monster poster dunk over Jacksonville State center Brandon Huffman.
JABARI SMITH PUT HIM ON A POSTER ‼️ pic.twitter.com/soAlXn37SN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 18, 2022
This dunk certainly got the attention of the college basketball world, and you can tell by the reaction of his teammates just how special of a player Smith is as he has the potential of being a top NBA star.
Jabari Smith come on down, my goodness
— Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) March 18, 2022
Wendell Green is all of America watching Jabari Smith play pic.twitter.com/BK5gjdGYcd
— Auburn Basketball ? (@sheabooskyy) March 18, 2022
Oh goodness gracious Jabari Smith pic.twitter.com/Pf0Jf7jgg9
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 18, 2022
lmao Jabari Smith just threw down such a large dunk that even his teammates, who see him practice and do crazy shit every day, are just like “oh my god what just happened” pic.twitter.com/jFGI5RNcjP
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 18, 2022
Jabari Smith! Bro it’s too early to end dude’s careers. pic.twitter.com/iCSnLuxh2E
— Brandon Champion: Low Ego, High Output (@BrandonthaChamp) March 18, 2022
Smith is widely accepted by most college basketball and NBA analysts as a future top-3 pick, at the very least, in next year’s NBA Draft. Many think he could be the first overall selection in June.
It’s still early, but this dunk is definitely looking like the dunk of the tournament and has added to the already huge Jabari Smith hype machine.
Smith and the Auburn Tigers can make some real noise this NCAA Tournament, and it will seemingly be because of plays like this that Auburn is one of the most dangerous teams in the field this March.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.