Auburn basketball upset Houston 74-69 on the road in an early March-like game.
No. 11 Auburn basketball defeated the No. 4 Houston Cougars 74-69 in a thrilling upset that featured six ties and 13 lead changes throughout the game.
This win marked one of the Tigers’ most significant in recent history. It required Auburn to travel to Houston amidst controversy, which resulted in two players (Jahki Howard and Ja’Heim Hudson) leaving Auburn without its signature depth, which head coach Bruce Pearl employs weekly.
With an impressive victory in the rearview mirror, Pearl and company are full steam ahead, but here are three takeaways from the upset win.
Takeaway #1: Taahad Pettiford
After a quiet debut for Pettiford against Vermont, where the five-star freshman shot 0-4 from the field and didn’t collect his first collegiate point, he flipped a switch and took over in the second half.
While the stat line was impressive with 21 points, three assists, and no turnovers, what turned heads was ability in the clutch.
“This is what we worked for all week,” Pettiford said. “We prepared for this. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. Coach always tells us to be ready when your time comes, and tonight was my time.”
Pettiford scored 11 of his 21 points in the final 11 minutes of the game and showed what could be the start of an impressive season for the young guard.
Takeaway #2: Playing from behind
In a game littered with lead changes and a very back-and-forth competitive contest, no matter how large the deficit grew, the Tigers never shied away from the challenge and kept putting themselves in positions to succeed.
Auburn enjoyed its largest lead early after a Pettiford three-pointer had Auburn out in front 19-12, 12 minutes into the game. However, Houston made its presence felt, and a buzzer-beater had Auburn down five at the half.
“Our guys stepped up,” Pearl said. “Johni was absolutely unstoppable. Tahaad Pettiford stepped up and showed up. Big road win for Auburn. A historic win. We needed this. I was so pleased with our competitiveness.”
The Cougars got their biggest lead five minutes into the second half, going up by 9 with a 41-32 advantage. This didn’t phase Auburn, and they kept battling for what was a hard-fought win.
Takeaway #3: Discrepancies in shooting splits
Auburn basketball shot 52% from the field against Houston, a feat that is not easy to come by against the Cougar’s defense. However, this was primarily due to the 36 points in the paint, as the Tigers were not on point on non-two-point attempts.
The Tigers shoot 30.43% on three-point attempts and 68.42% on free throw attempts, with seven different Tigers attempting threes without a make.
Most notably, Johni Broome, who finished the night with 20 points, shot 0-4 on three-point attempts and 0-4 at the charity stripe.
While it might not be a reason to sound the alarm, especially because of the efficiency of all the other shots, it is something worth keeping an eye on with the Maui Invitational coming soon.
Next up for Auburn (1-0): vs. Kent State (2-0) on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. EST
Next up for Houston (1-1): vs. Lousiana (1-1) on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. EST