It was another day in paradise for the No. 4 Auburn Tigers on Monday night in the Maui Invitational as they came back from an 18-point deficit to take down No. 5 Iowa State, 83-81.
It was the first top five opening round matchup in the history of the Maui Invitational Tournament, and Auburn’s second top five win of the young season – the first time in program history the Tigers have upset two top five team in the same season.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
A tale of two halves
Auburn was down by 18 points with under five minutes to play in the first half, and it looked like the Tigers were in for a rough night.
In the first half, Iowa State went on runs of 7-0, 10-0, 6-0 and 6-0 to bounce out to a 16-point halftime lead. They turned the Tigers over seven times and converted that into 11 points on the other end of the floor. While doing so, the Cyclones were unconscious from deep, hitting 45.5% of their three-point shots after entering the game shooting at a 31% clip from deep.
Meanwhile, Auburn couldn’t buy a basket – in large part to the suffocating Cyclone defense – shooting just 38.5% from the field compared to Iowa State’s whopping 58.1%.
Coming out of the half down by 16, Chad Baker-Mazara ignited a 20-4 Auburn run with a pair of steals and three pointers – one that ended up being a four-point swing. Auburn secured the lead with under four minutes to play and only held on to it for 2:24 compared to Iowa State’s 33:46 of the game.
Broome comes up big, again
It was a bit of a quiet first half from the field for the Preseason All-American, scoring just five points on two made field goals. Five of his first half points came from the charity-stripe.
But when it mattered most, Broome showed up. His second half emergence saw him score 11 points and a clutch three pointer to give Auburn its first lead. And in the final seconds, with a tie game, Broome tipped in a missed layup from Denver Jones to secure the Auburn victory, all while dealing with a leg cramp.
Broome finished his night with his 63rd triple-double of his career - 21 points and 10 rebounds - against his toughest one-on-one matchup this season in Dishon Jackson.
Chad Baker-Mazara shows his grit
If anyone deserves an MVP award for the Tigers, it’s Chad Baker-Mazara. After going down with a gruesome knee injury just seven minutes into the game, Baker-Mazara gritted it out and started the second half for the Tigers and came up big.
He was the catalyst for Auburn’s second half emergence. Two steals and a barrage of threes from Baker-Mazara sparked an 18-2 run in the second half. He finished with 18 points on the night, all but two coming in the second half.
Auburn overcomes the frontcourt foul trouble
There were lots of whistles being blown in the quarterfinal matchup, and Auburn’s frontcourt was catching the short end of them.
Opting to go with the double big lineup – Broome and Dylan Cardwell – to start off the game, Bruce Pearl had to substitute and rotate early and often. Cardwell picked up two quick fouls in the first half, and Chaney Johnson, who has been the Tigers' instant spark plug off the bench this season, picked up a quick two after scoring two quick baskets.
Pearl went to Chris Moore and Ja’Heim Hudson – his first appearance since the November 9 airplane incident – to alleviate some pressure. Moore was all over the floor, making hustle play after hustle play. Neither scored a bucket, but they were able to give Pearl time to figure out a solution for the foul trouble the Tigers found themselves in.
Auburn had three players end the game with four fouls and two players with three, but the depth of this Auburn squad showed up again with 10 players seeing the court – all but one who played double-digit minutes.
The Tigers are back in action Tuesday night in the semifinal round against the winner of Dayton and No. 12 North Carolina. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. CT and will be aired on ESPN.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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