By Ken Cross
Tiger Tales: The Creighton Blue Jays, under-seeded at a No. 9, took a 37-35 lead at halftime as the Blue Jays made 9-of-14 threes. The Tigers’ second half recalled their SEC play in the days before their outright SEC regular-season crown. Chad Baker-Mazara began the second half by scoring 11 of his 17 points in the first 6:28 and Auburn led 53-50 with 13:32 to play. Auburn outscored Creighton, 18-4, and the defense allowed the Blue Jays to make only 2-of-9 shots with a turnover in that run. Guard Tahaad Pettiford took over on offense as he found driving lanes for key pull-up jumpers, and showed his leadership in running the offense and finding shooters. The win placed the Tigers in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019 when they went to the Final Four.
From the Nest: Auburn slowed the Creighton three-point game in the second half as the Blue Jays found only 11 three-point attempts, making three. Point guard Steven Ashworth and the athletic Jamiya Neal became the primary matchup although Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the most successful centers in college basketball.
Statistical Breakdown: Both teams shot 47 percent from the field, but the Tigers’ physical play allowed them to outrebound Creighton, 36-26, and score 19 points off of 11 offensive boards. Auburn toppled Creighton, 42-24, in the paint as dribble penetration broke down the Creighton defense and allowed the scores.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, on the Tigers’ play: “Very proud of my team. We played Auburn basketball. We played like the number one team in the country. We acted like the number-one team in the country. We prepared like the number one team in the country.”
Creighton head coach Gregg McDermott’s comments on the game: “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.”