Johni Broome set the tone early, Aden Holloway reestablished the momentum in the second half and Auburn ran away with an 83-59 win over Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Legends Classic.
“It’s a good win,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “Notre Dame is a historic program, and in the ACC and it’s a good win for our league.”
The Tigers established a lead 27 seconds into the game and never trailed, leading for the game’s final 39:05. Broome scored eight of the first 11 points of the game for Auburn, largely aiding an early Auburn run that gave the Tigers a 13-4 lead at the first media break. The Tigers extended that lead to as much as 15 in the first half, but Notre Dame went on a late 14-5 run to close the game to six points, 39-33, at the break.
In the second half, however, it was all Auburn. Aden Holloway converted a pair of 3-pointers within the first three minutes of the half, one of which resulted in a 4-point play, as Auburn exploded for a 13-0 run out of the locker room, putting the game out of reach for the Fighting Irish. Auburn outscored Notre Dame 44-26 after halftime, punctuating a resounding win.
Holloway, the freshman point guard who earned his first career start in the game, scored 15 points — tied with Broome for the team lead. The two leading scorers, however, earned their points in different ways.
Holloway scored 12 of his points from behind the arc, going 4-of-5 from 3-point range, missing just the last 3-pointer he took. Broome, as usual, had success near the basket. Each of his first six points was scored on layups, with a later dunk. Broome made one 3-pointer, bringing him up to 4-of-6 from behind the arc on the young season — continuing to show off his expanded game following his trip to the NBA Combine this summer.
Holloway and Broome were two of five Tigers to reach double digits in scoring, with Jaylin Williams, Tre Donaldson and Chris Moore also reaching or exceeding 10 points. Moore’s 10-point game was his first double-digit scoring performance since scoring 12 at Washington on Dec. 21, 2022.
Holloway and Donaldson, Auburn’s two point guards, combined to go 9-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. The two combined for 25 points, and had a combined 10 assists to just two turnovers.
“Aden and Tre are incredibly hard workers,” Pearl said. “And they’re great shooters. Aden has got some special now, he’s going to make some tough ones, he’s going to make some 4-point plays…every time he shoots it, we think it’s going in.
For the second time in three games, the Tigers reached 45% shooting from 3-point range, going 9-for-20 from behind the arc. This came just two games removed from a 9-of-19 3-point performance against Baylor. In the entirety of the 2022-23 season, Auburn only reached or surpassed 45% from 3-point range five times. In addition to the 3-point success, Auburn added 38 points in the paint.
“If you’ve got to guard us in the perimeter, it opens up driving lanes,” Pearl said. “And it opens up Johni Broome on the inside, Jaylin Williams on the inside, Dylan Cardwell… I just think we’ve had great spacing and we’re getting open looks and that’s what you want as a coach…”
As Auburn had success from behind the arc, the Tigers also benefitted from their opponent’s inability to make 3-pointers. Notre Dame was just 2-for-26 from 3-point range, a make rate of just under 8%. The Fighting Irish were just 2-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half before going 0-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half.
What seemed to be a weakness of Auburn’s in the first half turned into a strength in the second half as Auburn turned around its rebounding performance at the break.
In the first half, the Tigers were outrebounded 21-13, with Notre Dame getting nine offensive boards and 11 second-chance points. In the second half, the Tigers outrebounded the Irish 22-14, evening the rebounding numbers at 35 each.
With the win, Auburn advances to play the home-state St. Bonaventure Bonnies for the Legends Classic title Friday evening. It will be Auburn's second trip to the Legends Classic championship – the Tigers won the event in 2019. The Bonnies defeated Oklahoma State, 66-64, in the semifinal preceding the Tigers’ game. Pearl expects to face a hungry, motivated Bonnies team.
“We have a chance now to play a very, very tough, hungry St. Bonaventure team,” Pearl said. “I told my guys that in a sense that they’ve been looking forward to this tournament and getting a chance to play against the three teams that came to their town or their state. This is a game they’re going to play tomorrow like they’re fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives.”
Tipoff for the championship game of the Legends Classic will be at 6 p.m. CST from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
