It hasn’t been the season anyone at Auburn longed for, but the Tigers certainly can’t be accused of giving their 41-year-old arena a lousy curtain call.

Auburn picked up its easiest win since it was playing the High Points and the West Georgias of college basketball, sending woeful LSU back to Baton Rouge with its 13th SEC loss of the season Saturday after a 74-59 victory in the second-to-last game at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

The Tigers (14-15, 5-9 SEC) have only five conference wins, but they’ve won their past four home games.

Coach Jeff Lebo called the game, which Auburn never trailed in after opening the game on a 9-0 run, “workman-like.” To the 8,927 in attendance Saturday who have suffered through watching the Tigers squander early lead after early lead, it might have been refreshingly boring.

“We always think we are going to play good in the first half,” said Tay Waller, who had his third consecutive outstanding game, scoring 26 points with six 3-pointers. “We just need to keep the lead throughout the course of the game.”

The Tigers did just that, not letting LSU (10-18, 1-13) any closer than 9 points in the second half, and, in turn, improved their chances at a better SEC Tournament draw.

Auburn’s win, coupled with Alabama’s loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, put the Tigers a full game ahead of the Tide for fourth place in the SEC West with two games to play – one being a head-to-head matchup in Tuscaloosa next Saturday.

A win Wednesday over Mississippi State in the arena’s final game, coupled with an Alabama loss at South Carolina, would clinch the fourth spot and set the Tigers up for a noon matchup Thursday, March 11, in Nashville with either South Carolina or Georgia in the SEC Tournament.

There’s a reason why both the Tigers and Tide don’t have to worry about falling into the division’s basement. Nearly 50 percent of their conference wins have come against LSU, which is in danger of going from division champion in 2009 to just one conference win in 2010.

The Bengal Tigers certainly didn’t have a chance with their best player, Tasmin Mitchell, going out early in the first half with foul trouble and exiting because of five fouls with 9 minutes to play. Mitchell scored 38 points against the Tigers in their near-win over Auburn in January, but managed just a season-low 6 points on 2-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes.

“Obviously, he’s our best player and he is one of the better players in the league,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “He should get a little more respect with his individual play.”

On top of Mitchell’s foul trouble, the Bengal Tigers had to deal with Waller, who has all of a sudden found a hot stroke he hasn’t felt since his junior-college days. Waller has averaged 27.6 points in the past three games, shooting 21-of-31 (68 percent) from 3-point range, single-handedly carrying the Tigers during stretches.

“I feel like I’m in the zone and can’t miss now,” Waller said.

His strong night helped compensate for the absence of guard Frankie Sullivan, who missed Saturday’s game because of a concussion he sustained in practice Friday. Lebo said Sullivan’s status would be re-evaluated today.

It also opened things up for Kenny Gabriel, DeWayne Reed and Earnest Ross, all of whom knocked down two 3-pointers apiece to help the Tigers shoot 13-of-28 from long range.

“Even when he’s not making shots or getting shots, he’s creating shots for other people,” Lebo said. “He’s been on fire for the last few games. It’s been unbelievable.”

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