The No. 4 Auburn Tigers dominated yet again en route to a Maui Invitational Championship on Wednesday, defeating Memphis 90-72 in the Lahaina Civic Center behind All-American Johni Broome’s fifth-straight double-double performance.
Auburn became the third SEC team to win the Maui Invitational — Kentucky and Vanderbilt were the other two — and won its fourth pre-conference tournament championship under Bruce Pearl's tutelage in the last six seasons.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Frontcourt domination
Auburn’s All-American big man Johni Broome stole the show again in Maui, securing his fifth consecutive double-double by halftime and finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Broome is making a strong argument for the Naismith Award candidate just seven games into the season, as he became the first Auburn player to record five-straight double-doubles since Jeff Moore did so in 1988.
Dylan Cardwell joined Broome on Wednesday night, pouring in 18 points — a career-best — while going 8-for-8 from the field. The pair proved to be a dominant force down low, converting on a pair of alley-oops and accounting for 19 of Auburn’s 32 rebounds. They also made up 39 of Auburn’s total points and 12 of its 23 assists.
Auburn outrebounded Memphis 32-26. The orange and blue Tigers had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half compared to Memphis’ 11 total rebounds while recording five blocks on the night to Memphis' zero.
Auburn holds Tyrese Hunter in check
Tyrese Hunter, Memphis’ second leading scorer behind PJ Haggerty, was held scoreless in the first half and scored just 11 points in the second.
Haggerty finished with 27 points — the most Auburn has given up to a single player this season — and was much of the reason Memphis stayed within a fighting chance of the orange and blue Tigers. Still, holding Hunter to his second-lowest outing this season was pivotal in Auburn’s championship triumph.
Defense & Hustle stats
Like in Auburn’s win over No. 12 North Carolina, hustle stats were big for Auburn in this one. In the first half, Auburn's assist-to-turnover ratio was 13-4 compared to Memphis’ 3-7, and it was one rebound shy of Memphis’ total rebounds (11), which turned into 16 second-chance points.
Auburn turned 11 Memphis turnovers into 20 points on the other end, further backing up its No. 4 defensive efficiency ranking according to KenPom.
Auburn’s depth too much
Again, Auburn’s depth proved too much for their opponent to handle.
The Tigers emptied the bench and saw 13 players get time on the court. Nine of the 13 scored, while four scored in double digits. All but four players saw double-digit minutes, and the orange and blue Tigers’ depth showed up in a big way as they had a quick turnaround from the semifinal round, less than 16 hours.
The Tigers are back in action for another pre-conference showdown with No. 11 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium next Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8:15 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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