Auburn is off in the midweek ahead of a trip to Atlanta to face Ohio State next weekend. The Tigers did not lose their second place ranking after falling to Duke and bouncing back with a win over Richmond on Sunday. With just a few games left until conference play, every win the Tigers can pick up will be important towards NCAA Tournament seeding in March. Here’s a recap of the Duke and Richmond games and a look ahead to the matchup with Ohio State.
Duke 84, Auburn 78
A hard-fought game inside the legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium saw Auburn lose their first game of the season. The matchup was a part of the SEC/ACC Challenge which was dominated by the SEC. Only Auburn and Kentucky lost to ACC opponents.
Auburn got off to a great start with a 13-2 run to start the game capped off by two made three point shots from Miles Kelly.
The Blue Devils had the answer with freshman Isiah Evans who hit six three point shots to help Duke take the 32-26 lead. Evans would finish the game with 18 points.
Auburn would answer two three pointers from Freshman Tahaad Pettiford and a tip-in from Chaney Johnson to give Auburn a 33-32 lead.
An 11-3 from Duke would see them take a seven point lead at halftime. The Blue Devils would hold the lead despite a late push from the Tigers.
Freshman star Cooper Flagg would lead the Blue Devils with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
Johni Broome and Pettiford led the Tigers with 20 points a piece. Broome earned another double-double with 12 rebounds.
Duke was steller offensively shooting 50% from the field and allowing only four turnovers. The Tigers got out-rebounded in the first half 24-15. Duke also had 20 second chance points and 33 points off the bench.
“We’re disappointed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played okay, but to beat Duke in here, you’ve got to play better than that. I give them all the credit. Our defense let us down. Duke was brilliant offensively.”
Off the court Auburn’s fans showed up in numbers with over 1,000 fans inside the arena. The University of Duke actually had to release a statement telling fans the atmosphere was “not acceptable” and that they should not try and sell to fans of opposing teams. Very interesting!
Auburn 98, Richmond 54
After that emotional game in Durham, the Tigers faced a potential trap game at home against Richmond. The Tigers were able to dominate the game; winning by 44 points.
One of the big headlines from the game was the return of freshman Jakhi Howard. He was benched after being involved in a fight aboard a team plane. Howard put in a strong performance with 13 points including two electrifying dunks.
Howard’s teammate Tahaad Pettiford commented on Howard’s dunks saying, “It was huge. I’ve seen that multiple times. It’s nothing new. He was loving it. He’s happy doing it.”
Coach Pearl was pleased with his freshman saying, “There’s an example of a guy who can help us get better. I was pleased with having him on the floor and some of the things he did.”
The Spiders seemed to have plan for Johni Broome; holding him to just 11 points and five rebounds.
Pettiford and Miles Kelly each had 15 points to lead the Tigers.
The win was Auburn’s 58th consecutive home victory. That record is currently the nation’s longest active home winning streak against against non-conference opponents. It was also Coach Pearl’s 208th win, putting him six wins away from being Auburn’s all-time winningest head coach.
Looking Ahead
Auburn is on break this week for finals, but will return to the court on Saturday against Ohio State. This game will be played in Atlanta as a part of the Holiday Hoopsgiving. The Buckeyes sit at 6-3 with quality wins over Texas and Rutgers. Their losses include Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, and Maryland.
Ohio State is led by junior guard Bruce Thornton who leads the team in rebounds (5) and points (16.4) per game. Forward Devin Royal also averages 14 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 per game.
Tip-off for the game begins at 12:00 p.m. CT and you can watch it on ESPN2.
