AUBURN - Auburn took advantage of one final tune-up opportunity on Friday night in Neville Arena, dominating Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with a 102-70 win.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Auburn is deep
Bruce Pearl talked this offseason about having a deep roster yet again, saying that there wouldn’t be much, if any, drop-off from his starting five to his bench. The Tigers bench accounted for 53 of the Tigers points on Friday night.
Pearl started rotating early and often, as Auburn saw nine players get action within the first four ½ minutes of play, and ten in six minutes. Comparatively, FAU only played eight players – one of those getting only nine minutes compared to 20+ from the rest.
The Tigers put a few different combinations on the floor, starting the game with Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell on the floor together, and mixing and matching between Tahhad Pettiford, JP Pegues, Denver Jones and Miles Kelly in the backcourt. They finished testing out a smaller lineup with Jaheim Hudson and Chaney Johnson down low.
Controlling the paint
Pearl mentioned in his weekly presser that FAU would present a much tougher challenge athletically, saying they have SEC size on the frontline. That did not seem to bother the Tigers on Friday night.
Auburn scored 36 points in the paint and made its presence known on the boards, out rebounding FAU 41-36.
All-American big man Johni Broome led the Tigers down low with 15 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. Chaney Johnson, who Pearl mentioned has gotten bigger and stronger since last year, added seven points and seven rebounds.
A glimpse at a pair of dynamic freshmen
The Tigers have a pair of dynamic freshmen in Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard this season, and they made their case as to why they’re so highly thought of on Friday night.
Pettiford led the Tigers in first half points with 10 and finished with 12 –his night was cut short after limping off the court midway through the second half. Howard joined him with 14 points and showed off his high-flying ability numerous times on fastbreak opportunities, throwing down a few tenacious dunks.
The two went a combined 4-9 from deep.
Three-point shooting
In last week's exhibition against Furman, the Tigers made just four shots from beyond-the-arc in a cold shooting performance. Auburn doubled that on Friday with 14 made 3-point shots, with seven different Tigers contributing to that number.
Auburn finished the night shooting 38% from deep – which would have ranked in the top-20 nationally last season.
The Tigers will begin regular season play next Wednesday against Vermont in Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SECN+.
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