LAHAINA, Hawaii — With one touch, a new tournament frontrunner.
With Monday’s Maui Invitational headliner between No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State — the type of top-five battle typically reserved for another tournament, that much larger one each March — deadlocked at 81 with under a minute to play, the game could’ve gone either way. Iowa State had the ball, and put it in the hands of its best player all afternoon: guard Keshon Gilbert, the hot knife slicing through Auburn’s vaunted defense all day long.
But as Gilbert drove for the would-be game-winner, he lost his dribble and turned the ball over — and Auburn was off to the races, flying on the fast break with a chance to fully close the door. Denver Jones drove, but his layup clanked off the rim, and floated back down to a mass of men all scrambling to get a hand on the loose ball.
Johni Broome — Auburn’s best player, its All-American center — won out. And so did the Tigers.
Top 5 Dub 🥶 pic.twitter.com/g7E3pd4raI
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 26, 2024
Broome’s offensive putback, which sent him careening across the Lahaina Civic Center court on his back, proved to be the decisive bucket in Auburn’s narrow 83-81 victory. And for the second time on the first day of Feast Week, a battle of big-time brands more than lived up to its billing. Auburn trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half before rattling off a 20-4 run out of intermission, clawing all the way back against a Cyclones defense that might be the best in the country. But the Tigers could never fully close the gap, and didn’t take their first lead until a pair of Jones free-throws with 4:01 to play. From then on, the Cyclones and Tigers slugged it out, trading blows and tough baskets — until Broome made the type of play that rightfully has Auburn fans dreaming big dreams for this season.
Early on, it looked like a much-hyped game might become a much-maligned letdown, as the Tigers looked completely out of sorts trying to handle Iowa State’s pressing defense. T.J. Otzelberger’s team did everything it could to make life difficult on the Tigers, forcing turnovers (seven) and converting them into points (11) on the other end. And when starting forward Chad Baker-Mazara exited the game with a knee injury midway through the first 20 minutes, matters only seemed worse. Pearl’s team rattled off a 10-2 run right before halftime, which kept the game within striking distance, but ISU answered — as it did all afternoon — with a 6-0 sprint of its own to make a 16-point halftime margin.
But it was like the teams body swapped at the break, with Auburn suddenly unable to miss, and Iowa State’s defense having taken its foot off the gas. After only allowing 0.900 PPP in the first half, Iowa State let Auburn score 1.471 PPP in the final 20 minutes — not far off the 1.485 PPP the Cyclones themselves scored in the first half. Iowa State missed nine of its first 10 shots after the break, as War Eagle chants rang out in the Civic Center.
By the time Auburn took the lead with about four minutes to play, Iowa State snapped back into action, even taking an 81-79 lead with 50 seconds left off two Gilbert free-throws. But Auburn quickly answered, as Dylan Cardwell found Miles Kelly inside for a cutting layup, setting the stage for the pivotal last 30 seconds.
Not only did Broome score that final bucket, but he led the team in scoring with 21 points, plus a game-high 10 rebounds. Baker-Mazara chipped in 18, too — 16 of which came after halftime — and freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford poured in 14 off the bench. Gilbert led Iowa State with 23, and fellow ISU guards Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey combined for 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Auburn advances to play the winner of North Carolina and Dayton in the semifinals, while Iowa State becomes the second top-five team of the day to end up in the consolation bracket.
Iowa State’s defense as advertised — but so is Auburn’s offense
The Cyclones wasted no time setting the tone defensively, forcing three Auburn turnovers in the first five minutes and visibly frustrating multiple Tigers players. Maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising — ISU entered the game fourth in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings, keyed by the nation’s best turnover rate and 12th-best effective field goal defense — but… well, teams don’t usually bottle up Auburn like that. Bruce Pearl’s team entered Monday’s game tops in the nation in effective field goal percentage and 2-point percentage, with six different players ranking in the top-250 nationally in offensive rating. It is as versatile and efficient as any team in the country — or, at least it had been, until the Cyclones arrived. Auburn’s 10-2 run late in the first half was the only reason ISU didn’t lead by 20 or more at the break.
All the statistical indicators backed up the eye test, too. Auburn entered Monday averaging 41 paint points per game, per CBB Analytics… and scored a whopping 14 in the first half.
But you can only keep Auburn down for so long. Houston found that out a few weeks ago, and now it was Iowa State’s turn.
The Tigers flipped whatever metaphorical switch they could in the halftime locker room, and raced out to a monstrous 20-4 run to start the second half, completely erasing ISU’s 16-point advantage.The differences? For starters, Auburn took much better care of the ball in the second half, with its five turnovers only leading to eight Iowa State points. And while the Tigers shot 54.5 percent in the second half, they also cleaned up their misses as well as possible, with 11 second-chance points to none for ISU. It took time to climb back from such a deficit, but the Tigers stayed the course, and ultimately deserved to come out on top.
Pettiford, Broome and… who? Chad Baker-Mazara
When Pettiford, the hero of Auburn’s road win versus Houston, entered early in the first half, he immediately put his big-game pants back on and drained a triple. He finished the first half with 10 points, half of Auburn’s four 3s, and was one of the few Tigers willing to throw his body into the meat grinder that is the Cyclones’ D. And while Broome wasn’t his best, he got to the free-throw line, at least, scoring half of his 10 points at the charity stripe (and three of the other five on one top-of-the-key 3). But otherwise? Pearl’s team desperately needed someone to step up. Everyone not named Pettiford or Broome combined to score just 13 points, with more turnovers (six) than made baskets (five).
Alexa, play Chad Baker-Mazara’s music.
Baker-Mazara’s first half? Forgettable. As many turnovers (two) as points. And with about nine and a half minutes before halftime, he crumpled to the court holding his right knee, obviously in serious pain. He even jumped off the floor on one leg, so as not to put pressure on the bad knee. He did not return for the rest of the first half.
But after intermission? Baker-Mazara was right back out there — and Auburn couldn’t have come back from down 16 points without him. As the Tigers rattled off a 20-4 run to start the second half, CBM was everywhere, canning two critical 3-pointers (one of which was an and-1) and putting much-needed pressure on the center of ISU’s defense. He ultimately scored 16 of his eventual 18 points after halftime, surpassing his previous season-high in less than 12 minutes of second-half action.
CBM😳 pic.twitter.com/3dNqTYwdRH
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 26, 2024
Just how good is Auburn?
We’ll find out over the next two days, especially if the Tigers end up playing No. 12 North Carolina in the semifinals on Tuesday — and possibly Memphis thereafter, after those Tigers took down No. 2 UConn earlier Monday, announcing themselves as legitimate top-25 contenders in the process.
And the rest of Feast Week will teach us plenty, too. Duke versus Kansas and Houston versus Alabama definitely await, and those results will lead to more top-10 rankings movement, too. Gonzaga, Arizona, and Indiana all bang around in the Bahamas. Any of those teams could emerge as Final Four frontrunner depending on how this week goes, the first time many of those teams are facing other high-major sides.
But at this juncture? With wins over Houston and Iowa State, one on the road and one on a neutral court? It’s hard to tap anyone but Auburn as the nation’s No. 1 team at the end of Monday night. The Tigers proved they can win with defense, as they did against Houston, and they can even surmount an offensive charge like they did in the second half versus Iowa’s top-five defense. Not many teams would be able to win one of those games, not to mention both. Pearl’s team has the ideal blend of versatility, depth and experience — with Broome as a centerpiece tying it all together. Even if the Tigers lose later this week, they’re clearly one of America’s best teams.
Required reading
(Photo: Darryl Oumi/ Getty Images)
