LEXINGTON, Ky. — The No. 1 overall seed started its NCAA Tournament run with a 20 point victory as Auburn defeated Alabama State 83-63 inside of Rupp Arena in the Round of 64. Included below are stats to know from the Tigers’ latest victory as they march on to the second round.
Game Specific:
After shooting 9-for-14 from deep when the Tigers played at Kentucky on March 1, Miles Kelly started a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc inside of Rupp Arena and knocked down 7-of-15 3-pointers against Alabama State.
Kelly made more 3-pointers than Alabama State, seven to six.
Outside of Kelly, who shot 7-for-15 from beyond the arc, Auburn shot just 4-for-20 from deep.
Chaney Johnson snapped a five game streak of not scoring in double figures as the 6-foot-7 power forward recorded 13 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field.
The Tigers knocked down just 18 of their 32 free throw attempts – marking the fourth straight game the squad has shot under 68% from the charity stripe.
With a 16-4 run late in the first half, Alabama State cut Auburn’s lead to just a single point by the 1:48 mark. The Tigers then went on a 22-5 to close the period and begin the second half to get back to a 18 point lead.
After a zero point performance, shooting 0-for-8 from the field, in the SEC Tournament semifinals, Tahaad Pettiford had 16 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, with four points at the charity stripe.
Johni Broome:
The national player of the year candidate put together a 14 point performance along with 11 rebounds in 27 minutes – his lowest minute total in a game he didn’t get hurt in since Monmouth.
The 6-foot-10 center now has 13 games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season.
The senior center is second among active D-I players with 79 career double-doubles and fifth with 19 double-doubles this season.
With Broome’s 19th double-double of the season, the national player of the year candidate broke Mike Mitchell’s program record for double-doubles in a season that stood for 50 years.
His 43 doubles-doubles at Auburn (2022-25) are tied for third-most among all SEC players in the last 25 seasons, trailing only Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe with 48 and LSU's Glen Davis with 44.
Tournament History:
Bruce Pearl’s eighth tournament win at Auburn passed Sonny Smith (7-5) for the most tournament wins in 119 years of Auburn Basketball.
Auburn is now 12-2 all-time in opening-round games in the NCAA Tournament.
Series History:
Facing an in-state opponent for the second time in program history, Auburn is a perfect 7-0 in the all-time series with Alabama State including a 5-0 mark in Auburn and 1-0 at Alabama State.
Miscellaneous:
Bruce Pearl is 18-13 lifetime in the NCAA Division I Tournament including 8-5 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
