The Auburn Tigers are now five wins away from achieving their goal of being the champions of college basketball.
Auburn defeated the Alabama State Hornets 83-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but had some tense moments in the first half. Amarr Knox hit made a layup with 1:48 left until halftime to make the score 32-31. The Tigers went on a 9-0 run to close the first half for a 41-31 lead. Auburn won the game, but they did not play their best basketball.
After the game, head coach Bruce Pearl spoke to the media about the result. He began by complimenting Alabama State‘s effort.
“They were a formidable opponent. We didn’t play our best, but I think they had a lot to do with it,” Pearl said. “So I just give them a great deal of credit.”
The free throw line was not friendly to the Tigers on Thursday. Auburn was 18 of 32 from the line and shot 56.3%. They even had misses from Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara. In its SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Tennessee, the Tigers went 13-of-22 from the stripe. It is an area of concern for Pearl and he hopes to get the issue corrected before Saturday’s round of 32 contest.
“Again, we missed 14 free throws, we made 18, and that’s going to catch us in a close game,” Pearl said. “These next games have a chance to be closer, so we’ve got to sharpen up in that area.”
Thursday was a big bounce back game for freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford. In the semifinals of the SEC Tournament against Tennessee, he made zero shots on eight attempts. Against Alabama State he scored 16 points and made five of nine field goals. With Auburn leading 43-33 with 17:48 remaining in the game, Pettiford added a four-point play when he was fouled by CJ Hines. That would give Auburn a 47-33 lead and they did not look back.
“It was great to see (Pettiford) bounce back, great to see him — even after he missed his first couple shots, and you’re like, oh, this is going to continue, he just obviously lit up,” Pearl said. He also went to say, “I thought his presence was a huge spark for us coming off the bench.”
Auburn will need Pettiford to continue being that spark off the bench as the competition gets tougher. The Tigers will play No. 9 seed Creighton out of the Big East on Saturday in the second round. Creighton defeated No. 8 Louisville 89-75 on Thursday in one of the few upsets to kick off March Madness.
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn’s Bruce Pearl breaks down March Madness win over Alabama State
