Auburn basketball rallied back to defeat Iowa State 83-81 in an exciting matchup in Maui.
The Auburn Tigers, for the first time in program history, have won two matchups against AP top-five opponents in program history. It is only November. After a hole as large as 18 points and being down 16 points at the half, a Johni Broome tip-in as time expired sealed the comeback victory for Auburn.
Takeaway #1: Chad Baker-Mazara
Chad Baker-Mazara only recorded two points in the first half and was held out for most of the half due to injury concerns after knee-to-knee contact.
Baker-Mazara was a spark plug in the second half and finished the night with 18 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
“Don’t let adversity take the best out of us,” Baker-Mazara said. “The guys responded very well, and we came back and put up a fight.”
It seems like anyone on this roster can explode, and this time, it was Baker-Mazara leading the charge in the largest AP top-five matchup in over a decade.
Takeaway #2: First and second-half differences
The Tigers’ first half was less than ideal. They were held to 38% from the field and faced a 16-point deficit at the break.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” Pearl said. “Iowa State played great in the first half. You could tell both teams were very well prepared. I think they got a little tired. We started guarding them. We came here to make history.
Auburn flipped the script on Iowa State. After the Cyclones shot 58% from the field in the first half, the Tigers limited them to 38% from the field and outscored them 50-32.
With a 5-0 start against two great opponents, the Tigers have done so in incredible fashion and were down at the half in both contests.
Takeaway #3: Scoring ability
The Iowa State Cyclones are one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Before their contest against the Tigers, they ranked first in points allowed per game.
After allowing 83 points to the Tigers, they are tied for 14th in the country with 58.8 points allowed per game. That number is just eight points north of what Auburn scored in the second half alone.
Despite the sluggish first half, were things seemed to be over for the Tigers, they exploded against some of the most formidable defenses in the country.
If Auburn basketball can continue this scoring against defenses like this, it will be a problem for other teams in the foreseeable future.
Next up for Auburn (5-0): vs. North Carolina (4-1) on Nov. 26 at 11:30 p.m. EST
Next up for Iowa State (3-1): vs. Dayton (5-1) on Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m. EST