LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Auburn Tigers, the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, beat the Alabama State Hornets 83-63 Thursday to advance to the second round. The win is Auburn’s first in the NCAA Tournament in over two years.
Tigers guard Miles Kelly continued his love affair with the baskets in Rupp Arena, scoring 23 points on 8-16 from the field and 7-15 from three. He started 4-4 from deep, points the Tigers desperately needed when Alabama State went on a 12-1 scoring run and cut Auburn’s lead as low as one in the first half. The Tigers answered with a 9-0 run of their own to carry a 10-point lead into the halftime break.
Auburn stretched its lead to 20 with 13:02 to play, and the Tigers kept the Hornets at arm’s length for the rest of the game. Second-half scoring came from all over for Auburn. Tahaad Pettiford led the way with nine points. Kelly had eight, Johni Broome and Denver Jones each had seven, and Chaney Johnson added six en route to his first double-digit scoring performance since Feb 26 against Ole Miss. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Johni Broome’s 14-point, 11-rebound double-double marks his 19th of the season, a program record for single-season double-doubles. When asked what that meant to him after the game, Broome said, “It means a lot to solidify my name in Auburn history and kind of give back to the university.”
Bruce Pearl congratulated Alabama State on a great season, noting that they were a “formidable opponent.” Pearl added, “We didn't play our best, but I think they had a lot to do with it. So I just give them a great deal of credit.”
Alabama State threw multiple different defensive looks at Auburn, and the Tigers struggled to adapt at times, leading to the much closer first half than expected. Tigers’ freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford helped lead the effort in reestablishing dominance. Pettiford was +22 in 28 minutes, scoring 16 points and adding five rebounds and five assists.
“It was great to see him bounce back,” Pearl said of Pettiford, following a 0-8 performance in Auburn’s last game, a loss to Tennessee. “Even after he missed his first couple shots, and you're like, oh, this is going to continue, he just obviously lit up.” Pearl was complimentary of Pettiford’s defensive effort as well, part of an overall excellent defensive outing for Auburn.
The Tigers’ defense held Alabama State to just 37 percent shooting from the field. Amarr Knox led the way for the Hornets with 18 points, but he and TJ Madlock were the only ones to score in double figures.
The win advances the Tigers to the second round where they will take on the Creighton Blue Jays. Creighton beat Louisville 89-75, and Pearl is already lloking ahead to the next game.
“No, we won't beat Creighton playing the way we played tonight,” Pearl said. The Tigers shot just 45 percent from the field and struggled again at the free throw line. “We can play better. We know we can tighten things up.”
Auburn and Creighton play Saturday in Lexington with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line. The game’s time and television carrier are still to-be-determined. The game will be available for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
