Auburn overcomes sloppy first half to advance, face Creighton in second round

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March 21, 2025

The No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers earned an 83-63 first-round victory over the 16th-seed Alabama State Hornets on Thursday. Auburn will now advance into the Round of 32 and take on the No. 9 seed Creighton Bluejays.

Despite the win, it was not a pretty game for the Tigers. Auburn’s lead was cut to just one point late in the first half via a 16-4 Alabama State-run before the Tigers closed the half on a 9-0 run to lead by 10 headed into the break.

Hustle plays from Johni Broome 💪#MarchMadness @AuburnMBB pic.twitter.com/FOVtySic8b

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2025

After jumping out to an 18-point lead just over five minutes into the second frame, things began to settle down as Auburn eventually walked away with the 20-point win.

Nice lil run happening rn 🤌 pic.twitter.com/bk2kJ0vSZE

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 20, 2025

The hero from Alabama State’s opening game against Saint Francis, guard Amarr Knox, gave Auburn all kinds of problems, scoring 18 points. For the Tigers, it was Miles Kelly leading the way with 23 points. Kelly’s teammate, Johni Broome, had a relatively quiet game.

Auburn’s star finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Chaney Johnson added 13 off the bench. Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford had a big day as well with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

Tahaad had himself a March Madness debut 👋 pic.twitter.com/Lj7HfSyF1S

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 20, 2025

The win was Bruce Pearl’s eighth NCAA Tournament victory as Auburn’s head coach, giving him the most in program history passing Sonny Smith’s total of seven. After 14 tournament appearances in the program’s history, the Tigers now move to 12-2 in first-round games.

Round of 32 🔜👀 pic.twitter.com/53LNRudTVz

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 20, 2025

While the win over ASU was not a terrible performance from the Tigers, the team will have to pick it up on Saturday to defeat Creighton after the Bluejays looked spectacular against Louisville.

Auburn faces Creighton tomorrow night at 6:10 p.m. CST.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.