LEXINGTON, Ky. — Led by Miles Kelly's seven made 3-pointers, the top-seeded Tigers advanced to the Round of 32 Thursday afternoon after defeating in-state foe No. 16 seed Alabama State 83-63 inside of Rupp Arena in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The win marks the 12th time the Tigers have won its opening round matchup in March Madness. Bruce Pearl also became the winningest Auburn coach in NCAA Tournament history, collecting his eight such victory.
Auburn turns its focus to the No. 9 seed Creighton Bluejays, where the two squads will match up on Saturday with a trip to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta on the line. The Bluejays defeated the No. 8 seed Louisville 89-75 inside of a Rupp Arena filled with Cardinal fans in the contest prior to Auburn’s game.
“Our execution was terrific,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott after the win. “We beat an incredible team, and I couldn't have been more impressed with them in our preparation. We felt like we had to win the three-point line battle, so we did what we do co to try to force them into twos, and if they were taking threes, they were going to be challenged.”
Against Louisville, Creighton was able to knock down 11-of-24 attempts from deep, shooting 57% from the field to win a game in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. The Bluejays are led by unanimous All-Big East pick and All-American Ryan Kalkbrenner who recorded 14 points against the Cardinals.
“You have a four-time Defensive Player of the Year at the basket waiting for them. So really trying to funnel all of those lane line drives or base line drives off the three-point line and into Kalkbrenner, and he did a phenomenal job, as he always does, protecting the basket for us and making it difficult for them,” McDermott said of the difference Kalkbrenner made against Louisville.
The Bluejays lead the nation in only committing 10.9 fouls per game with their opponents shooting just 11.0 free throws per game. Creighton held Louisville to just eight trips to the charity stripe.
Creighton had two players with 20-or-more points against Louisville, with Jamiya Neal recording 29 points and Steven Ashworth 22.
“My guys did a great job, offensively, defensively, Jamiya was terrific, Jackson, big shots in the first half, and then Steven throughout the game running the show for us. It's a really gratifying win because of who we beat and how good I thought they were,” McDermott said.
Auburn and Creighton will matchup in the Round of 32 inside of Rupp Arena on Saturday, March 20. The exact time and TV channel will be announced later this evening.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
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