In its second true road test of the season, No. 2 Auburn secured its seventh Quad 1 win with an 87-82 triumph over Texas at the Moody Center on Tuesday night.
With the win, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl recorded his 214th career victory with the Tigers, making him the all-time winningest coach in program history.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Auburn weathers the storms
Texas got out to a fast start behind six Arthur Kaluma points and three offensive rebounds, but the Tigers never wavered, answering Kaluma’s early scoring efforts with a 14-2 run to shoot out to a 17-8 lead at the 11:47 mark in the first half. The Tigers held the Longhorns scoreless for 4:23 of play, turning them over four times in the process.
Holding a comfortable 21-point lead with 12:57 to go, the Tigers quickly saw their lead dwindle to single digits after a 13-0 run by the Longhorns. Auburn was 1-of-8 from the field during that stretch. However, the Tigers answered with a Chad Baker-Mazara contested layup and a Miles Kelly three. Auburn then went on to hold Texas scoreless from the field for nearly 4:30 of play, racing ahead by 15 with just over four minutes left to play.
Auburn’s respective runs were enough to overcome sloppy shooting in the end as the Tigers went scoreless from the field for 4:26 with nearly six and half minutes left to play. Texas cut the Tigers’ lead down to just three with under a minute left, but a pair of free throws from Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones iced the game.
Another historic night for Broome
Another Auburn basketball game, another double-double for Auburn’s All-American Johni Broome.
Broome recorded his 70th career double-double on Tuesday and achieved another historic feat in the win. His 20-point, 12-rebound performance solidified his mark of recording double-digit double-doubles in all five seasons of his collegiate career.
Broome led the Tigers in scoring, rebounding and poured in a team-high five assists.
Quiet night for Johnson, Kaluma shines
A goal for Pearl’s Tigers heading into this one was holding the SEC’s leading scorer in check, and that they did. Tre Johnson entered the contest averaging 19 points per game – scoring in double digits in all but one game played this season. He finished with 11 points, going 5-of-13 from the field.
However, Kaluma – who started off with six of the Longhorns’ first eight points – went off for a career-high 34 points, – leading all scorers – and adding eight rebounds. He is the first Longhorn to score 30+ points against a top two team in the nation since Kevin Durant did so in 2006-2007.
Plethora of Tigers help carry the load
Broome headlined Auburn's scoring efforts, but four other Tigers notched double digits en route to the narrow win.
Kelly went for 18 points on 4-of-6 performance from deep – half of the Tigers made 3-pointers – and Baker-Mazara – who took on the load of shutting down Johnson – added 16 points. Jones and Pettiford each added 10 points with a made 3-pointer from each.
Auburn shot 48% from the field, won the rebound battle and held one of the nations-best 3-point shooting squads to just five made threes.
The Tigers will take to the road once more with a trip to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the Gamecocks on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. CT on SECN.
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