The final on the scoreboard showed Auburn earning a comfortable win, but it did not come without a little March Madness flair.
The No. 9 Tigers led by as many as 17 in the second half of their first round game with No. 8 Iowa before the Hawkeyes stormed back to cut the lead to four with 4:10 remaining in the game. Despite the threat from Iowa, Auburn was able to run away with an 83-75 win to advance to the NCAA Tournament second round on Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
An astounding six players reached double figures in the game, with [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] each recording double-doubles. Broome led the team in scoring and boards with 19 and 12 respectively, while Flanigan scored 10 and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Iowa got the best of Auburn in several categories including rebounding, second chance points, and bench points. However, Auburn outscored the Hawkeyes on the fastbreak, 26-8, and shot slightly better by connecting on 46% of their shots while Iowa shot 41% from the field.
The first half began about as close as anticipated through the first ten minutes with neither team leading by more than four points when Auburn held a 10-6 advantage with 13:31 left in the half. Auburn held the shooting advantage by connecting on 40% of their shots, while Iowa only made 27%.
Following the timeout at 10:20, Auburn began to create distance between themselves and Iowa by jumping out to a 21-12 lead with 8:00 to go in the half. Johni Broome’s layup with 8:56 to go sparked a 5-0 run in just under a minute to build a cushion.
The Hawkeyes then went on a 10-3 run by making four of their next five baskets to cut Auburn’s lead to 25-22 with 3:31 to go in the half.
To close the half, Auburn outscored Iowa, 6-4 to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room. Eight Tigers recorded points in the first half, with Broome scoring eight points on 50% shooting.
Neither team shot well in the first half, both connecting on 38% of their shots. [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag] made the game’s only three-point bucket of the half, both teams would combine to succeed on 1-of-18 shots from outside the perimeter.
[autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] kickstarted the second half by making a quick three-point bucket, and Broome followed with five quick points to move Auburn ahead by ten points, 39-29 at the 15:56 mark in the second half.
Iowa would cut Auburn’s lead to within six points before [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] made two three-point shots which started a surge that would see Auburn gain a lead up to 17 points, 58-41, with 10:50 remaining.
Iowa would catch fire by holding Auburn scoreless for 2:34, which was instrumental in the Hawkeyes to 17-4 run over a four-minute frame to cut Auburn’s lead to 64-60 with 5:03 in the second half.
The Tigers ended the game by not letting Iowa get to within six points of their lead, and would lead by as much as ten points over the final five minutes.
Auburn will now await the winner of No. 1 Houston and No. 16 Northern Kentucky, and will meet the winning team on Saturday.
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