LEXINGTON, Ky. — The top-seeded Tigers endured a back-and-forth first half but pulled away down the stretch to defeat No. 9 seed Creighton 82-70 and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. Below are the stats to know from Auburn’s latest tournament victory as Bruce Pearl and his squad march on.
Game Specific:
In the back and forth contest, the Bluejays and Tigers changed leads 16 times on Saturday night but when Auburn went on a 20-4 run in the second half it never trailed again.
Only once prior to tonight’s game had Auburn given up double digit 3-pointers to an opponent – 13 in the loss to Florida. The Bluejays knocked down nine first half shots from deep and finished shooting 12-for-27 – making only three 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
Only three teams this season hit nine-or-more 3-pointers against Auburn; Duke, Florida and Texas A&M. Creighton knocked down nine shots from deep in the first half alone.
Bluejays’ guard Steven Ashworth shot 3-for-4 from deep in the first half, recording 11 points in the first 20 minutes. However, he didn’t make a shot from beyond the arc the rest of the game, finishing with 13 points.
After shooting 51.9% from the field and 64.3% from deep in the first half, Creighton shot 42.3% from the field and 23.1% from beyond the arc.
Entering tonight, Creighton was 11-0 this season when shooting at least 37% from deep. The Bluejays finished shooting 44% from beyond the arc and lost.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored eight of Auburn’s first 10 points in the second half and finished with 12 points in the second period. The guard recorded 17 total points against Creighton.
Tahaad Pettiford recorded his fifth 20-or-more point game with 23 points – 16 of which came in the second half – shooting 7-for-14 from the field with two triples.
Johni Broome had his lowest point total since the Texas A&M loss with eight, but the national player of the year candidate had five offensive rebounds and 12 total boards.
Tournament History:
The Tigers advanced to the program's sixth Sweet 16 and first since the 2019 tournament with the win over Creighton.
Auburn now has a 21-13 record in the NCAA Tournament including a 9-5 mark under Pearl.
Program History:
Auburn matched its program record of 30 wins in a single season, set during the 2018-19 season, with tonight’s win.
The Tigers’ collected their third win of the season inside of Rupp Arena this month tonight which matches the program’s number of victories inside of Rupp Arena prior to the start of the season.
Miscellaneous:
Pearl is now 19-13 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament including a 9-5 mark at Auburn.
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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.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
