Auburn (10-2) crushed Chattanooga (8-5) 101-66 Saturday night inside Neville Arena. Auburn dominated the game from start to finish, playing some of their best basketball of the season.
Just over a week ago, the Tigers faced Alabama State, and while they won the game by 20 points, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was frustrated with his team's performance, calling it "unacceptable."
The game overall was sloppy. They trailed early in the game and had a multitude of turnovers. They also lost the second half to the Hornets.
"Getting beat in the second half was not something that I was very pleased with," Pearl said after the Alabama State game.
Pearl wanted his team to play a complete game on Saturday night, and they did just that.
The Tigers started the game on an 8-0 run, in large part due to veteran forward Johni Broome.
"I feel like our energy was a lot better (compared to the last game) in the first group," Broome said. "And it just carried on to the next group," Broome said.
Broome finished the night with 18 points and was a mismatch for Chattanooga all game.
Broome would not be alone, though. The Tigers got production from everyone. Forward Chaney Johnson scored five early points and added three steals in less than five minutes to help build the Auburn lead.
Forward Jaylin Williams also added seven in the first half and 21 total points in the game. The big first half from Auburn's front-court and defense would give them a 22-point lead at the half. The Tigers defense had six blocks and five steals in the first half.
"I thought we did a really good job guarding," Pearl said. "I thought we valued possessions with 23 assists and nine turnovers."
Starting games had not been the issue for the Tigers, though. Playing for a full 40 minutes has been the problem.
"It's hard to be as strong in both halves," Pearl said.
Despite the difficulties, Auburn was determined to change the trend. The Tigers won the second half 52-39.
All around, the half was really good. The scoring carried over from the first half and even improved. Auburn shot 56 percent from three in the half and 60 percent from the field. There was not any let up in the Tigers.
"I thought we played really well tonight," Pearl said.
Auburn finished 2023 on a high note. They have one more non-conference game, and then conference play begins. They will be back in action Tuesday night at 8 p.m. against Penn inside Neville Arena.
The game will air on the SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
