Entering its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, Auburn looks to win its 11th straight first-round game when it faces Iowa in its tournament opener.
Auburn did not have to travel far to begin the tournament, as its opening games in the Midwest Region will take place in Birmingham, Alabama— just two hours from Auburn’s campus.
“The fact that it's worked out, we're able to be a couple hours from campus is great,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “That's why the pod system was created. It's great for our students and great for our fans and those that can get into the game. It won't have a huge effect on the game much because it's a neutral site in every way. But we're happy to be here. We feel fortunate to be here.”
Close games have been the standard for the 9th-seeded Tigers (20-12), who come into the tournament with a 9-9 record in single-digit contests.
“Gives us a lot of confidence. At the end of the day those are still losses,” said senior Jaylin Williams. “We have to move on and learn and see where we can pick up from, and the little things that cost us the game, learn from that and just move on. Obviously, Alabama is one of the best teams in the country and played them close and have us be up by 17 and then compete with them. Just tells you we can compete with anybody in the country.”
Iowa comes into the game with a potent offensive attack. The 8th-seeded Hawkeyes (19-13) average 80.2 points per game, ranking 18th nationally. From a scoring standpoint, Iowa is the second-best offense Auburn has faced this season, only behind Alabama’s seventh-rated scoring offense.
The Hawkeyes’ offensive success is due in large part to their lack of turnovers. Iowa only turns the ball over 9.9 times per game, the 12th fewest in the country.
“They play unselfishly,” Pearl said. “They don't turn the ball over. They will get a shot off before they turn it over.”
The Hawkeyes make 8.1 3-pointers per game on an average of 23.5 attempts. Auburn, meanwhile, allows opponents to make just 28.8% of their shots behind the arc, the fifth-best 3-point defense in the nation.
Iowa is led by Kris Murray, who averages 20.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. On the defensive end, Murray blocks 1.2 shots per game.
“Murray is a tough matchup,” Pearl said. “I don't know if he's 6'9" or 6'10". But he plays longer than that. And he's a guard. That makes him a real tough matchup, and potentially the way they use him, a mismatch. We've played against Brandon Miller who also was a tough matchup. Kris has ability more inside. We played, and we'll have our hands full because he can do things inside and out.”
While Iowa has great success offensively, the Hawkeyes have struggled mightily on defense this season. The Hawkeyes gave up 74.4 points per game, just 292nd nationally. Auburn has only faced one scoring defense worse than Iowa’s this season — Missouri, which ranks 296th.
The Hawkeyes are especially vulnerable behind the arc, where they allow opponents to hit 36.6% of their 3-pointers, ranking 320th nationally — the worst 3-point defense Auburn has faced. Though the Tigers have struggled from behind the arc throughout the season, converting just 31.4% of their 3-pointers, that number has risen to nearly 36% over the past nine games.
Thursday will begin Auburn’s fourth appearance in the past five NCAA Tournaments. Last season, Auburn made an early exit from the tournament despite earning a two seed. In this tournament, the Tigers plan to apply the lessons they learned from last year.
“What I learned is take it one at a time, and just be dedicated to it,” said senior Zep Jasper. “Keep fighting, keep going, because at any time you can gain confidence, any time you can just have a spark where you just make sparks and have the confidence playing defense each and every time. That was my focus on coming to this year and coming into March Madness.”
The winner of this game will face top-seeded Houston or 16-seed Northern Kentucky in the second round. The opening-round game between the Tigers and Hawkeyes will begin at 5:50 p.m. CST and will be nationally televised on TNT as the Tigers begin their NCAA Tournament journey.
“Anything can happen in March,” said senior Allen Flanigan. “It's called March Madness for a reason. Each game is going to be competitive. It's going to be great competition. All the teams in the tournament are tough. Tough to beat. And just, you know, you got to bring it every night.”
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
