HOUSTON, Texas (EETV) – Auburn men’s basketball traveled down to Houston this weekend for a matchup with the Houston Cougars in the MatressFirm Battleground 2k24. After a hard-fought game that lived up to the hype, the Tigers came out on top with an impressive 74-69 victory.
The game featured two top-11 teams in the AP Poll, the biggest game by ranking so far this season. The two squads played like it, too, trading heavyweight blows back and forth all game long.
The Houston defense, one of the best defensive units in the country over the last few seasons, started out strong. Only Chaney Johnson was able to break through for Auburn in the first four minutes, and he only had two points in the span. Johnson would go on to have nine of Auburn’s 28 points in the half.
The first half was a strong defensive battle throughout, as the Tigers gave as little space to Houston as the Cougars did to them. It was a lot of back-and-forth action, both teams struggling to find consistent good looks and capitalize on them.
Auburn’s defense began to crack at the end of the half, however, allowing an 18-7 run to Houston to end the period. The run was capped off by a Terr Arceneaux buzzer-beating three-pointer that had the Houston contingent in Toyota Center going wild, making the place feel more like a Houston home game than a neutral site contest.
However, Auburn came out fighting for the second half. The Tigers eventually drew within three, the score sitting at 41-38. Then, Tahaad Pettiford showed the world why he was a five-star recruit. In the span of seven minutes, Pettiford racked up ten points. Many came on tough threes or bold drives, moves more fit for an experienced veteran than a player playing his first big game in college.
“Man, he’s special,” Johni Broome said when asked about Pettiford. “We have a good relationship, and he’s a little brother to me. So it felt so good to see him hitting big shots and leading his team to victory.”
Then, as Houston tried to shift their focus to Pettiford, they left themselves vulnerable to Johni Broome. Broome consistently worked off pick-and-roll actions with Pettiford, and the Cougars had no answer, often leaving Broome all alone at the basket or at least lightly covered with the chance for an easy two points.
Houston tried to stay in the game by getting to the line, ten of their final 21 points coming from the charity stripe. However, the Auburn defense held strong, putting consistent pressure on the Houston shooters and not letting the Cougars establish any momentum. When all was said and done, it was enough for Auburn to walk out of the slugfest with an impressive 74-69 victory.
The leading scorers for the Tigers were, appropriately, Tahaad Pettiford with 21 points and Johni Broome with 20. The present and future of Auburn basketball made a great team, combining for 55 percent of the Tigers’ points on the night. Chaney Johnson also played well, recording a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, it was a very solid team performance for Auburn that had Head Coach Bruce Pearl impressed.
“Just a great win for Auburn,” Pearl said. “A great environment for college basketball. It felt like a March game. Didn’t feel like November.”
Well, if Auburn's play in H-Town is what fans can expect when March hits, it should be much more joy and less pain for the Tiger faithful this time around in the big dance.
