Auburn Basketball took down the North Carolina Tar Heels 85-72 in dominating fashion last Tuesday in the 2nd round of the Maui Invitational tournament.
The Tigers led the whole game and played consistently on both sides of the ball. Valuable key players kept stepping up and made sure the Tar Heels had no chance at taking the lead.
One of those players was senior Johni Broome, who had the game winning tip-in basket vs Iowa State last Monday. Once again, Broome tailed up a double-double with 23 points and 19 rebounds.
Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly, senior Chad Baker-Mazara, and freshman Tahaad Pettiford were also major factors of the game, as the three combined for 29 points. They stood deadly behind the line and showed off the depth of this Tigers team.
It’s also worth noting that Baker-Mazara suffered a couple injuries throughout the tournament, such as a minor knee injury last Monday against Iowa State, and a lower body injury last Tuesday. That didn’t stop him from contributing valuable shots that became the key to the Tigers’ victories.
On the other side, veterans RJ Davis and Seth Trimble carried the Tar Heels with a combined 29 points. However, their offensive explosions were not enough to get themselves in the game.
This game was a huge win for the Tigers, as it was their 3rd win against a top 12 team this season, making them one of the most feared teams in the country. Their consistent three-point shooting and defense holds them in regards as one of the most complete teams in college basketball.
Head coach Bruce Pearl knew that the Tar Heels were an excellent, experienced team. He praised his Tigers team for taking control of the entire game.
“North Carolina’s a great, great offensive team. And we know they’ve come back from 20-point deficits before,” said Pearl. “So I thought our guys stepped up the game, started the second half for sure. But also started the game extremely well.”
The Tar Heels weren’t the only blue bloods the Tigers would face this season, as they are set to face hopeful first overall pick Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 8:15 p.m. CST as part of the SEC/ACC challenge.
With this win, the Tigers will advance to the final round of the Maui Invitational tournament, where they will face the Memphis Tigers on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m. CST.
Memphis is currently undefeated and pulled off stunning wins against the No. 2 defending champions UConn Huskies and Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans in the first and second rounds of the tournament. If Auburn wants to avoid being upset, they must not slow down and keep attacking on both sides.
Pearl shows no signs of his team slowing down and knows that Memphis is getting more serious throughout their season.
“Memphis is a very tough cover. They got three guards that are really hard to stay in front of,” said Pearl. “So we’re gonna have to stay down, and we’re gonna have to stay up.”
Auburn vs Memphis will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
