Auburn’s Broome sweeps aside Iowa in NCAA opener

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With Auburn fans bringing a taste of the Jungle to Heritage Arena, the ninth-seeded Tigers exploded for 52 second-half points and held off Iowa 83-75 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Johni Broome and Allen Flanigan produced double-doubles to lead six Tigers in double figures. Auburn built a 17-point lead with 10:50 to play before the Hawkeyes closed the gap.

“Johni had a tough game and he won the game, which is very important,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who improved to 7-3 in NCAA Tournament play at Auburn, tying Sonny Smith for the most tournament wins in program history. “I’m so happy for Allen, he’s playing his best basketball right now on the big stage.”

Broome led the Tigers with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Flanigan added 10 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high four assists.

“We knew he wasn’t going away,” Broome said. “We depend on each other to box out, rebound and shoot the contest, and that’s what we did to finish the game.”

Wendell Green Jr. scored 10 points in the final four and a half minutes to hold off the Hawkeyes. He finished with 15 points. Jaylin Williams, Tre Donaldson and KD Johnson each added 11 points.

After a low-scoring first half, the Tigers came out on fire in the second half, scoring 18 of their first 20 points from behind the 3-point line while building a 12-point lead.

Williams hit a 3-pointer to open the half. After the Hawkeyes answered with a 3, Broome hit a 3, then Johnson hit a pair of open 3s in transition, and Donaldson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Tigers on top 51-39.

“He has a toughness about him, a swag, a confidence,” Pearl said of Donaldson. “He doesn’t look like a freshman. It’s very important that your bench plays well in the postseason. KD has given us a spark coming off the bench.”

When Iowa called a timeout, chants of “Let’s Go Auburn!” cascaded through the arena.

“They came in deep and heavy,” Flanigan said of Auburn’s fan attendance. “He showed out, loud and rowdy the whole game. It felt like a home game for us.”

Flangian’s coast-to-coast layup gave Auburn a 58-41 lead before the Hawkeyes made a quick comeback, pulling within four points with five minutes to play after a 7-0 run.

“We knew he was coming back,” Pearl said. “It was a little tight. We got stops, got rebounds and 50-50 balls.”

That’s when Green went to work, scoring twice on the drive and going 6-for-6 from the line to seal the victory.

“Wendell is a great floor general,” Pearl said. “I thought our bench played well. Our speed and quickness was a factor defensively.”

Auburn’s point guard played a big role in the second half, Donaldson and Green combining for 21 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. with four assists and one turnover.

Auburn scored nine points in response to take a 21-12 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.

Johnson started his run with a tough shot in the lane. After back-to-back buckets by Broome, Chris Moore made a steal and passed to Green for a 3-pointer, only 3 for either team in the half.

After Iowa’s 6-0 run, Green stole the ball and lobbed it to Dylan Cardwell for an alley-oop slam that ignited the pro-Auburn crowd.

The Tigers led 31-26 at halftime on the strength of eight points and six rebounds from Broome, and six points and seven rebounds from Flanigan.

“To hold it to 26 at the half was a big effort,” Pearl said.

UP NEXT

By winning its first-round game for its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, Auburn advanced to the second round on Saturday and will face the winner of top-seeded Houston vs. Northern Kentucky.