For the 11th time in 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, Auburn won its first-round game. The 9th-seeded Tigers defeated 8-seed Iowa 83-75 to advance to the tournament’s second round.
“You walk in Auburn's locker room and there's a sign that says ‘AU, make history,’” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “And we knew going into this game that Auburn and our basketball program had won 10 straight first-round games but this match against Iowa was not going to be easy. But we wanted to be able to add to the history.”
It was a partisan crowd for the Tigers, as the game took place just two hours north of campus in Birmingham, Alabama. The crowd brought an energy similar to what the Tigers experienced at Neville Arena this season.
“The hometown, they came in deep and heavy,” said forward Allen Flanigan. “They showed out. They was loud and rowdy all game. Felt like a home game for us.”
Led by double-doubles from Johni Broome and Flanigan, as well as a combined five 3-pointers from K.D. Johnson and Tre Donaldson, the Tigers built a 17-point lead in the second half and held off an Iowa comeback attempt.
Both Johnson and Donaldson finished with 11 points. For Donaldson, it was his best scoring output since scoring 12 against USC on Dec. 18.
“He's got a toughness about him, a swag, confidence, not afraid. Absolutely not afraid of the moment,” Pearl said. “And he did not look or act like a freshman at all. And I think that -- I know that you're in a game like that.”
Johnson’s 11-point game followed a 20-point performance in the SEC Tournament.
“I started off the season kind of sluggish and I wasn't there for my team,” Johnson said. “I wanted to pay them back with giving 110 percent with myself, my body, my mind, everything, just to do whatever to make us go farther in this March Madness.”
Johnson and Donaldson led a 26-point night for Auburn’s bench.
“It's very, very important that your bench plays well in the postseason,” Pearl said.
A balanced scoring attack led Auburn to victory. Six different Tigers reached double figures, led by Broome’s 19. Of the 11 Tigers who played, only two did not score.
Meanwhile, Auburn’s defense held the vaunted Hawkweyes offense in check. The Tigers held Iowa to five points below its season average. The Tigers forced just eight turnovers, but made them count — scoring 10 points off the Iowa miscues. The Hawkeyes shot just 41.2% from the field and shot just 7-of-27 from behind the arc. The Tigers accomplished this despite an injury to Chris Moore and Jaylin Williams being in foul trouble.
“Chris Moore is in a regular rotation with us. He goes out with his shoulder,” Pearl said. “And we were able to overcome some real challenges. Jaylin Williams gets in foul trouble. There were a lot of things that happened that could have set us back.”
It was another single-digit first-round win for Auburn. Of the 12 tournament openers the Tigers have played, nine were decided by single digits.
Iowa made a comeback, trimming its deficit from 17 to four with 3:53 to go, but the Tigers staved off the rally, largely due to free-throw makes in a pressure situation.
Over the final 3:53, Auburn made 11 free throws, distancing itself from the Hawkeyes. Auburn made 17-of-22 free throws in the game, led by a perfect 8-for-8 night by Wendell Green Jr.
It was the Tigers’ 19th tournament win in program history and the seventh under Pearl.
The Tigers will face either top-seeded Houston or 16-seed Northern Kentucky in Saturday’s second-round game. Time and television information will be announced later Thursday evening.
“Houston is a No. 1 seed. So we're going to need more than what we did tonight,” Johnson said. “And just feed off, keep going with what we did tonight.”
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
