LEXINGTON, Ky. (EETV) – Auburn basketball took on the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday in Rupp Arena in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite an early shooting barrage from the Bluejays, Auburn would walk away with the victory, 82-70.
The game started fast, with each team hitting multiple threes within the first five minutes of game time. For Auburn, it was Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly, whereas for Creighton it was Steven Ashworth, Jackson McAndrew, and Ryan Kalkbrenner.
The long range attack by the Bluejays continued for much of the first half, accounting for Creighton’s first 18 points of the game. However, the Auburn defense played solid down low and inside, limiting the Bluejay attack to the three point line.
Meanwhile, the Auburn offense was trying to hang on. The Tigers were able to keep pace with the Creighton attack thanks to their relentless defense, but outside of Denver Jones and Chaney Johnson, Auburn’s scoring was sporadic early.
Despite the off and on offense, the Tigers managed to stay solid on defense, holding Creighton to 37 points in the first half. Though, for the Bluejays, 27 of those points came on nine made three-pointers. Jackson McAndrew led the way with four, Steven Ashworth knocked down three, and Ryan Kalkbrenner and Fedor Zugic had one each.
Thanks to the prolific Creighton shooting, Auburn found itself down two points at the half. The two squads began the second half fairly evenly, matching scoring possessions until the Bluejays held a 50-48 lead with 14:13 to play. Though, for the Tigers, their points were coming mainly from one player.
Chad Baker-Mazara came out of the locker room with incredibly high energy and put it to use instantly, scoring 12 of the first 18 points for Auburn in the second half. Baker-Mazara knocked down a three, a jumper, two layups, and three free throws during the span before exiting the game with a hip injury. He would return in the final minutes but finish the game with 17 points, the second-highest scoring Tiger of the evening.
The highest-scoring Tiger was Tahaad Pettiford. The freshman took over the second half for Auburn, scoring 16 points in the final 20 minutes. Added with his first half total, Pettiford ended the night with 23, his second-highest scoring performance of the season.
Pettiford constantly delivered in big moments for Auburn, repeatedly wearing down Creighton’s guards defensively, passing out of traps, and making acrobatic cuts and difficult floaters seems effortless down the stretch. Though, according to the freshman guards, much of the credit for his performance could be given to his teammates.
“My guys helped me get the ball, get me open and helped me find the shots that I wanted to get,” Pettiford said.
The final piece of the scoring puzzle for Auburn in the second half was Denver Jones. The former FIU transfer racked up 11 second half points on his way to a 15 point day. However, Jones’s defense was the most impressive part of his night.
Facing Steven Ashworth, one of the best shooting point guards in the Big East and the country, Jones held the Creighton guard to 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half. However, once out of the locker rooms, Jones locked Ashworth down over the final minutes, forcing him to shoot 1-6 from the field and 0-3 from deep in the final 20 minutes, something that Jones took pride in when asked how he got it done.
“Honestly [by] putting forth effort and energy,” Jones said. “We talked about the type of team we were going to play and what we need to work on. And coming into this game you could feel in the air that today was a lot different than the other day. We came out here and proved it [in the] second half especially.”
There were also some Tigers who, though they didn’t stuff the stat sheet, played an impressive game. Johni Broome accounted for just eight points, and Dylar Cardwell had six. However, the two Auburn big men were menaces down low, holding Creighton to just 24 points in the paint, four offensive rebounds, and six second chance points, all areas where the Tiger defense had struggled recently.
Thanks to the offensive performances by the three guards, Auburn found itself looking at a win on the scoreboard after 40 minutes, a trip to the sweet 16 secured. The effort from the Tigers all evening looked like it had been upped, something both the player and Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl took pride in.
“Very proud of my team,” Coach Pearl said. “We played Auburn basketball. We played like the number 1 team in the country. We acted like the number 1 team in the country. We prepared like the number 1 team in the country.”
The next challenge for Auburn will be the five-seed Michigan Wolverines. There will be some familiar faces on that Michigan team for the Auburn faithful, from former Tiger point guard Tre Donaldson to Danny Wolf, a star player on the Yale team that eliminated Auburn from the Tournament last season. Auburn will take on Michigan on Friday, March 28 in Atlanta.
