In the first-ever meeting between the two foes, top-seeded Auburn defeated Seattle U 91-85 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Sunday evening at Neville Arena.
The win extended the Tigers’ nation-best non-conference home winning streak to 66 straight games.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Strong first 20
In its first round game against South Alabama, Auburn played an uninspiring brand of basketball in the first half – much like it has all season.
But on Sunday night against the Redhawks, Auburn wasted no time creating a double-digit lead.
Before the under-16 timeout, Auburn tallied five points from the charity stripe and used an early triple to take an early two-point lead. Auburn extended its lead with a 13-3 run near the under-eight timeout, putting up 32 points with seven Tigers etching their name on the scoreboard.
The only negative for the Tigers in the first stanza was a 2-of-13 mark from beyond the arc and a handful of early turnovers.
Keyshawn Hall nearly collected a double-double with nine points and as many boards in the first half.
Tigers establish a presence down low
Even without its starting center, KeShawn Murphy, on the floor, Auburn held a distinct athletic and physical advantage over Seattle U.
The Tigers finished with a 41-23 edge on the glass, including 10 offensive boards that turned into 10 second-chance points. Auburn held a plus-14 advantage down low with 38 points in the paint.
Auburn shot 44% from inside the arc, scoring 40 of its total points in that area.
Sebastian Williams-Adams fouled out with 15 points, but imposed his will with a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the floor, with all six makes coming down low.
The Tigers’ 38 points down low were the most since their 75-74 win over Kentucky in the regular season, where they tallied 40 paint points.
Efficient offensive showing
In an all-around efficient night for the Tigers’ offense, Tuesday night marked the first game since its regular-season home matchup against Alabama that it eclipsed the 90-point threshold.
Against a Redhawks’ defense that ranks No. 23 in the country in scoring defense, allowing fewer than 67 points per game, Auburn had no problem scoring the basketball.
Auburn ended its night shooting 50% from the floor, its highest mark since the conclusion of the regular season.
Every Tiger that saw action scored — a feat achieved in the first half — with Kevin Overton leading the way with 22 points. It was his fifth 20-point outing in the last six games.
After connecting on seven triples in the Tigers’ first-round game, Overton buried four tonight, moving him into Auburn’s top 10 for 3-pointers made in a single season with 84.
Elyjah Freeman added 19 on a 7-of-10 clip from the floor with Filip Jovic eclipsing double digits (12) for the first time since scoring 23 against South Carolina.
3-point defense still a struggle
Auburn entered the contest ranked No. 339 nationally in 3-point percentage defense.
Simply put, it’s been a weak point all season.
On Tuesday, the Tigers gave up a whopping 16 treys to a Seattle U squad that averages 7.3 per game, good for 235th nationally.
The Redhawks shot a sizzling 52% from deep, which is only its second-worst mark allowed in an eight-game stretch.
Seattle U’s Brayden Maldonado connected on seven of his 13 attempts from deep and scored a game-high 25 points.
Auburn will host Nevada in the quarterfinals with a date and time TBA.
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