LEXINGTON, KY. – History was made the last time Auburn took the floor inside Rupp Arena as it left with its first win in Lexington since 1988 and, on the same day, won the SEC regular-season title outright.
And again it was a historic day in the Bluegrass state, but this time for one Tiger in particular. Miles Kelly recorded a season-high 30 points in Auburn’s 94-78 takedown of then-No. 17 Kentucky on March 1. Today, in the Tigers’ 83-63 dismantling of 16-seed Alabama State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Kelly picked up right where he left off on the all–too-familiar Wildcat homecourt as he tied Bryce Brown’s program record with seven makes from deep in an NCAA Tournament game.
“I actually wasn’t aware of the record until Marlene just told me going into media. It’s cool to do something like that in March. Bryce Brown was a great shooter for Auburn. It’s special to do something like that,” Kelly said.
Auburn raced out to an early 28-15 lead in the early goings and it was Kelly who paced the Tigers’ hot shooting as he started a perfect 4-for-4 from deep. He accounted for 12 of Auburn’s first 15 points and his barrage of threes in the first half were a huge part as to why the Tigers never relinquished their lead.
“When I made those first four, I was like, ‘It’s going to be a long night.’ But I ended up missing a couple of easy ones that I should have made,” Kelly said. “Rupp has been nothing but lovely to me, especially the rims. It might just be the aura of the arena or something like that. I just love playing here, though.”
At the 8:02 mark in the first half, an efficient start from the field quickly turned bitter as Alabama State held the Tigers scoreless for nearly the next seven minutes as it blasted for a 12-1 run.
“Give Alabama State credit for being here and having the run like they did. I thought we lacked some effort and energy, some focus. Thank God Miles Kelly didn't,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.
After a stagnant seven-minute stretch in the first half, Auburn’s offense shot its way out of a slump and ended the first half on a 9-0 run, later turning it into a 24-7 run in the second half as the Tigers started 4-of-7 from the field en route to what would eventually become a 23-point lead.
Though Kelly's heroics from beyond the arc didn’t trickle down to his teammates, Auburn combined for just four makes from deep outside of Kellys’ seven. Tahaad Pettiford tallied two in a 16-point performance with Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara each hitting one apiece.
“I feel like we were taking a lot of contested threes or we were just rushing a lot of shots instead of letting the plays develop,” said Auburn guard Denver Jones.
Kellys’ 23 points were the most he has notched since his season-high at the beginning of the month. Can you come to expect a party from deep whenever Kelly touches the floor in Rupp? Maybe. We’ll have to wait and see, but at the end of the day it’s just what he does.
“I’m a shot maker,” Kelly said. “At the end of the day, my teammates did a great job finding me. All I had to do was knock down the shots.”
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.
Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler
