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Auburn rides dominant 2nd-half swing to win over Creighton
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Auburn entered the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament geared up for a challenge. The Tigers got one with Creighton coming out sharp early and often in a major test for Bruce Pearl’s squad.
In fact, it was the Bluejays who rolled to a slim 37-35 lead at halftime. The first half was dominated by Creighton’s hot 3-point shooting and plenty of miscues for Auburn’s offense.
Prior to the break, Creighton was a blistering 9-for-14 from 3-point range and shot 51.9% from the field overall. In the same half, Auburn shot just 38.5% from the floor and 27.3% from 3-point range and was only able to hang in the game on the benefit of 13 2nd-chance points.
After the break was a completely different story with Auburn heating up and shutting down the Bluejays on both ends of the court. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 12 early 2nd-half points to spur the Tigers while the defense put the clamps on Creighton’s shooting.
Creighton went just 3-for-13 from 3-point range after halftime as Auburn put together a 20-4 run to grab control of the game. The Bluejays would cut the lead to 7 at one point but it was not enough. Denver Jones essentially iced the win for Auburn with a crucial and-1 bucket late in the game for the 82-70 win.
It was far from a flawless performance by Auburn and not the kind of outing fans wanted to see after some of the other recent struggles. Johni Broome was uncharacteristically off while being limited to 8 points and 12 rebounds on 4-for-13 shooting. Baker-Mazara and Dylan Cardwell also battled injuries in the game, so their status will be worth monitoring moving forward.
Tahaad Pettiford was fantastic for Auburn down the stretch, picking up where Baker-Mazara left off after his injury. Pettiford led all scorers with 23 points, including 16 in the 2nd half.
With the win, Auburn is safely through to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. That is the last time the Tigers advanced to a Final Four and will look to get back there this year. Auburn will face Michigan with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
