LAHAINA, Hawaii — With one contact, a brand new match frontrunner.
With Monday’s Maui Invitational headliner between No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State — the kind of top-five battle sometimes reserved for one other match, that a lot bigger one every March — deadlocked at 81 with below a minute to play, the sport might’ve gone both method. Iowa State had the ball, and put it within the palms of its finest participant all afternoon: guard Keshon Gilbert, the new knife slicing via Auburn’s vaunted protection all day lengthy.
However as Gilbert drove for the would-be game-winner, he misplaced his dribble and turned the ball over — and Auburn was off to the races, flying on the quick break with an opportunity to completely shut the door. Denver Jones drove, however his layup clanked off the rim, and floated again right down to a mass of males all scrambling to get a hand on the free ball.
Johni Broome — Auburn’s finest participant, its All-American heart — received out. And so did the Tigers.
Prime 5 Dub 🥶 pic.twitter.com/g7E3pd4raI
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 26, 2024
Broome’s offensive putback, which despatched him careening throughout the Lahaina Civic Heart courtroom on his again, proved to be the decisive bucket in Auburn’s slender 83-81 victory.
“Coach wished a easy excessive ball display with me and Denver,” Broome stated. “Me and Denver is down there, we’re two animals, and he bought on a run — and I let God do the remaining.”
For the second time on the primary day of Feast Week, a battle of big-time manufacturers greater than lived as much as its billing. By advantage of its victory, Auburn now has two top-five regular-season wins for the primary time ever — setting the stage for a doubtlessly particular season in Alabama.
“Up to now, we’ve made historical past,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl stated. “That there’s pretty much as good a win as we’re going to see, and pretty much as good a recreation.”
Early on, it appeared like a much-hyped recreation would possibly grow to be a much-maligned letdown, because the Tigers appeared fully out of kinds making an attempt to deal with Iowa State’s urgent protection. T.J. Otzelberger’s staff did every part it might to make life tough on the Tigers, forcing turnovers (seven) and changing them into factors (11) on the opposite finish. And when beginning ahead Chad Baker-Mazara exited the sport with a knee harm halfway via the primary 20 minutes, issues solely appeared worse.
Pearl’s staff rattled off a 10-2 run proper earlier than halftime, which saved the sport inside putting distance, however ISU answered — because it did all afternoon — with a 6-0 dash of its personal to make a 16-point halftime margin.
“Whenever you’re up the way in which we have been,” Otzelberger stated, “you need to attempt to end.”
As an alternative, it was just like the groups body-swapped on the break: Auburn abruptly unable to overlook, and Iowa State’s protection having taken its foot off the gasoline. The Tigers rattled off a 20-4 run out of intermission, even in opposition to a Cyclones protection that could be the perfect within the nation. Iowa State missed 9 of its first 10 pictures after the break, as Warfare Eagle chants rang out within the Civic Heart.
A lot of that run was fueled by Baker-Mazara, whose back-to-back 3s within the span of 33 seconds shrank ISU’s 10-point lead right down to a way more manageable 4. Otzelberger referred to as timeout after the second fell, however any grasp it held on the sport was passed by then. “No. 10,” Iowa State guard Curtis Jones stated of Baker-Mazara postgame. “He bought scorching.”
That Baker-Mazara balled out that method, after banging knees within the first half, showcased the sort of toughness that has outlined Auburn throughout Pearl’s tenure.“I all the time say my mama raised a warrior,” Baker-Mazara stated. “If I’m not useless, I’m going on the market.”
After solely permitting 0.900 PPP within the first half, Iowa State let Auburn rating 1.471 PPP within the remaining 20 minutes — not far off the 1.485 PPP the Cyclones themselves scored within the first half. Nonetheless, the Tigers might by no means totally shut the hole, as Iowa State — normally Gilbert, particularly, who completed with a game-high 23 factors — all the time appeared to muster a solution regardless of its struggles in any other case. Auburn didn’t really take its first lead of the sport till a pair of Jones free-throws with 4:01 to play.
And from then on, the Cyclones and Tigers slugged it out, buying and selling blows and difficult baskets.
Iowa State briefly reclaimed the lead late, when Gilbert’s remaining two factors — a pair of free-throws — put the Cyclones up 81-79 with 50 seconds left. However this time, it was Auburn with the reply: Dylan Cardwell discovered a chopping Miles Kelly inside for a layup, setting the stage for the pivotal final 30 seconds.
Otzelberger referred to as timeout with 31.2 ticks left, to arrange a possible game-winner of his personal. “Wished to get (Gilbert) in area going together with his proper hand, and tried to create contact and get within the paint and to the rim,” he stated, “and simply weren’t lucky sufficient.”
As Gilbert bumped into Broome, he turned it over, at which level Auburn had about 10 seconds to make its transfer. Jones driving first turned out to be for the perfect — it allowed Broome to get again into the play, and have momentum behind him for his leap via site visitors. After his tip went in, Iowa State didn’t even have time to inbound the ball and get off a remaining heave.
Not solely did Broome rating that remaining bucket, he additionally led the staff in scoring with 21 factors, plus a game-high 10 rebounds. Baker-Mazara chipped in 18, too — 16 of which got here after halftime — and freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford poured in 14 off the bench. Along with Gilbert’s 23, fellow ISU guards Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey mixed for 20 factors, seven rebounds and 5 assists; though they went 2-for-9 from 3.
Auburn advances to play the winner of North Carolina and Dayton within the semifinals, whereas Iowa State turns into the second top-five staff of the day to finish up within the comfort bracket.
Iowa State’s protection as marketed — however so is Auburn’s offense
The Cyclones wasted no time setting the tone defensively, forcing three Auburn turnovers within the first 5 minutes and visibly irritating a number of Tigers gamers. Possibly that shouldn’t be so shocking — ISU entered the sport fourth in KenPom’s adjusted defensive effectivity rankings, keyed by the nation’s finest turnover price and Twelfth-best efficient discipline purpose protection — however… nicely, groups don’t normally bottle up Auburn like that. Bruce Pearl’s staff entered Monday’s recreation tops within the nation in efficient discipline purpose proportion and 2-point proportion, with six totally different gamers rating within the top-250 nationally in offensive ranking. It’s as versatile and environment friendly as any staff within the nation — or, not less than it had been, till the Cyclones arrived. Auburn’s 10-2 run late within the first half was the one purpose ISU didn’t lead by 20 or extra on the break.
All of the statistical indicators backed up the attention take a look at, too. Auburn entered Monday averaging 41 paint factors per recreation, per CBB Analytics… and scored a whopping 14 within the first half. In the meantime, Iowa State did what it historically does: pressure turnovers and convert them into factors on the opposite finish.
“To place 49 on us within the first half,” Pearl stated, “we didn’t play very nicely, however they performed nice.”
However you may solely hold Auburn down for therefore lengthy. Houston discovered that out a number of weeks in the past, and now it was Iowa State’s flip.
The Tigers flipped no matter metaphorical change they may within the halftime locker room, and raced out to a monstrous 20-4 run to begin the second half, fully erasing ISU’s 16-point benefit.The variations? For starters, Auburn took significantly better care of the ball within the second half, with its 5 turnovers solely resulting in eight Iowa State factors. And whereas the Tigers shot 54.5 p.c within the second half, in addition they cleaned up their misses in addition to attainable, with 11 second-chance factors to none for ISU. It took time to climb again from such a deficit, however the Tigers stayed the course, and in the end deserved to return out on prime.
“They have been the extra bodily staff within the second half, and that confirmed up in plenty of areas, however particularly on the glass and their skill to get to the offensive glass,” Otzelberger stated. “Definitely that final play is a microcosm of that.”
Pettiford, Broome and… who? Chad Baker-Mazara
When Pettiford, the hero of Auburn’s highway win versus Houston, entered early within the first half, he instantly put his big-game pants again on and drained a triple. He completed the primary half with 10 factors, half of Auburn’s 4 3s, and was one of many few Tigers keen to throw his physique into the meat grinder that’s the Cyclones’ D. And whereas Broome wasn’t his finest, he bought to the free-throw line, not less than, scoring half of his 10 factors on the charity stripe (and three of the opposite 5 on one top-of-the-key 3). However in any other case? Pearl’s staff desperately wanted somebody to step up. Everybody not named Pettiford or Broome mixed to attain simply 13 factors, with extra turnovers (six) than made baskets (5).
Alexa, play Chad Baker-Mazara’s music.
Baker-Mazara’s first half? Forgettable. As many turnovers (two) as factors. And with about 9 and a half minutes earlier than halftime, he crumpled to the courtroom holding his proper knee, clearly in critical ache. He even jumped off the ground on one leg, in order to not put strain on the unhealthy knee. He didn’t return for the remainder of the primary half.
However after intermission? Baker-Mazara was proper again on the market — and Auburn couldn’t have come again from down 16 factors with out him. Because the Tigers rattled off a 20-4 run to begin the second half, CBM was in every single place, canning two essential 3-pointers (one in every of which was an and-1) and placing much-needed strain on the middle of ISU’s protection. He in the end scored 16 of his eventual 18 factors after halftime, surpassing his earlier season-high in lower than 12 minutes of second-half motion.
“I used to be by no means actually fearful about him. I do know he’s a fighter,” Broome stated. “At halftime I talked to him, and he stated he was going again on the market, and all through the second half, he stated, ‘I bought you.’”
CBM😳 pic.twitter.com/3dNqTYwdRH
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 26, 2024
Simply how good is Auburn?
We’ll discover out over the subsequent two days, particularly if the Tigers find yourself taking part in No. 12 North Carolina within the semifinals on Tuesday — and probably Memphis thereafter, after these Tigers took down No. 2 UConn earlier Monday, asserting themselves as legit top-25 contenders within the course of.
And the remainder of Feast Week will train us lots, too. Duke versus Kansas and Houston versus Alabama positively await, and people outcomes will result in extra top-10 rankings motion, too. Gonzaga, Arizona, and Indiana all bang round within the Bahamas. Any of these groups might emerge as Remaining 4 frontrunner relying on how this week goes, the primary time lots of these groups are going through different high-major sides.
However at this juncture? With wins over Houston and Iowa State, one on the highway and one on a impartial courtroom? It’s arduous to faucet anybody however Auburn because the nation’s No. 1 staff on the finish of Monday evening. The Tigers proved they’ll win with protection, as they did in opposition to Houston, and so they may even surmount an offensive cost like they did within the second half versus Iowa’s top-five protection. Not many groups would be capable of win a type of video games, to not point out each. Pearl’s staff has the perfect mix of versatility, depth and expertise — with Broome as a centerpiece tying all of it collectively. Even when the Tigers lose later this week, they’re clearly one in every of America’s finest groups.
Required studying
(Photograph: Darryl Oumi/ Getty Pictures)
