AUBURN, Ala. — No. 2 Auburn (8-1) bounced back emphatically in its win over Richmond (4-5) Sunday. The Tigers won 98-54 over the Spiders led in part by a strong offensive showing. In what could have been a letdown spot for Auburn coming off the Duke game and with an early morning tip quickly turned into a dominant performance.
“I thought that had a chance to be a trap game coming off of Maui and then Duke,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.” “And I’m just very impressed with my guys for being excited about playing.”
Auburn started the game 0-3 from three-point range before catching fire from behind the arc the rest of the half. Auburn drained nine threes in the first half alone leading to 52 first-half points. Auburn nearly outscored Richmond’s total in the first half alone.
Richmond’s defense keyed in on star forward Johni Broome, but that allowed Auburn’s guards to get open looks and they took advantage. Tahaad Pettiford and Miles Kelly led the way scoring for the Tigers with 15 points each and a combined 8-15 from three in the game.
“They were all about taking Johni away and double-teaming the post,” Pearl said. “And Johni said ‘give me the ball so I can throw it to a teammate.’”
Despite scoring below his season average Broome still scored 11 while dishing out six assists and five rebounds. In total, six Tigers scored in double digits. After a scoreless outing against Duke, Denver Jones scored 11 and shot 3-8 from three. Chad Baker-Mazara added 13 points in just 19 minutes on the court.
The most surprising of the six to score in double digits, however, was true freshman guard Jahki Howard. Howard had not played meaningful minutes since the first game of the season entering Sunday. Howard re-entered against Richmond and shined in his 21 minutes of action. Howard scored 13 points and made multiple ferocious dunks that sent Neville Arena into a frenzy.
“It was good, you know, seeing him come out there do what he does best, and he was loving it,” Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford said.
If anyone had doubts about how Auburn might respond to its first loss of the season, those doubts were put to rest Sunday. Auburn took full advantage of the opportunity to right the ship back at home for the first time in nearly three weeks. After a whirlwind of a schedule over the last few months, the Tigers will now have nearly a week off for finals before facing Ohio State in Atlanta on Saturday.
“We’re gonna ramp it up with the training, get our bodies right so we can be fresh for Ohio State,” guard Miles Kelly said.
Auburn’s game against Ohio State will tip off at noon CT on the Auburn Sports Network and ESPN2 next Saturday from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
