LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half while Johni Broome scored eight and grabbed 12 rebounds to help No. 1 Auburn hold off No. 9 Creighton for an 82-70 second-round win in the South Region on Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
Auburn (30-5), the top overall seed in the tournament, advances to the Sweet 16 and will face No. 5 Michigan, a 91-79 winner over Texas A&M, in the regional semifinal next Friday in Atlanta.
“Very proud of my team. We played Auburn basketball,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played like the No. 1 team in the country. We acted like the No. 1 team in the country. We prepared like the No. 1 team in the country.
“We talked a little bit about game one and not giving the kind of effort and energy that was required and, you know, not really trusting one another, sharing it, and the sacrifices that need to be made. Tonight we put all that behind us and the guys did a phenomenal job on both ends of the floor.”
Auburn overcame the losses of two starters in the second half to injury as Chad Baker-Mazara limped off after making two free throws with 13:32 left. He returned with a limp and continued to play before leaving with 1:30 remaining.
“For sure, I didn’t have a good offensive game. I shot 4-for-13 but that’s okay,” said Broome, a national player of the year candidate. “I came here to win. This season is about winning. I know my teammates got my back and they know I have theirs. My shots weren’t falling, so I just had to do whatever I can to impact winning and I let everybody else do the scoring.”
Starting center Dylan Cardwell went down under the Auburn basket grabbing his right hamstring with 7:36 left and did not return.
Baker-Mazara had 12 of his 17 points in the second half before his injury.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 points and seven boards while Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal had 13 points apiece for Creighton (25-11). The Bluejays’ bench was outscored 31-10 by Auburn reserves.
“This year in particular has been a really, really fun and rewarding year,” Kalkbrenner said. “This team has been such a joy to be around. When I made the decision to come back all the way in the summer you think you’re making the right decision when you make it but you don’t know for sure. Sitting up here today, obviously the season ended a little bit sooner than we wanted it to but it was definitely the right decision.”
The injuries were the only factors slowing down Auburn for most of the second half as they knocked down four 3-pointers and shot 60 percent to go on a 10-0 run and build a 68-54 lead with just over six minutes left.
The Bluejays answered with seven straight, but Auburn responded with two baskets to build the lead back to double figures with under three minutes remaining.
“We lost to an outstanding team. We recognized we were going to have to play a pretty perfect game if we expected to win. While we weren’t perfect, I certainly applaud our effort,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “We came into the game trying to make it tough for Broome and I think we did that. We didn’t want Kelly to get a lot of clean looks, and we were able to accomplish that.”
Creighton used sizzling 3-point shooting to not only stay in the game but also take a 37-35 halftime lead. The first half was back-and-forth, featuring 13 lead changes and two ties.
Jackson McAndrew, fresh from his three 3-pointers and 11 points in a first-round win over Louisville, knocked down 4-of-5 from the floor in the first half — all from beyond the arc. McAndrew led the Bluejays with 12 first-half points.
Ashworth added 11 and was 3-for-4 from long distance as Creighton finished the opening 20 minutes going 9-of-14 from 3-point range.
“For me, I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success, success beyond what we deserve,” Pearl said. “To give us this platform. To give us an opportunity to start this conference briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now. An American held hostage and not enough people in this country know his name. I asked the players if I started out this press conference and called out the name of an American, brings the hostages home.”
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
