Auburn Dominates UNC, Advances to Maui Invitational Final

The No. 4 Auburn Tigers led from tip off to buzzer against UNC on Tuesday night in a 85-72 win in the Maui Invitational.

Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome led his team to a convincing win over the UNC Tar Heels / Steven Leonard, Auburn Tigers

Once again, Johni Broome put his ability to take over a game on display and showed why he is regarded as one of college basketball’s best big men. 

Broome’s double-double led the No. 4 Auburn Tigers (6-0) to an 85-72 win over the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels (4-2), clinching their spot in the Championship Game of the Maui Invitational.

“Our guys started both halves extremely well. Johni Broome was dominant,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl after the game, whose team takes on Memphis fewer than 16 hours after defeating the Tar Heels.

“Denver Jones continues to lead our guards with his defense. He’s one of the best defensive guards in the country. We’re going to need all that tomorrow against Memphis.”

For the most part, Auburn controlled the game from tip-off to final buzzer. North Carolina cut its deficit down to two, but that was as close as this game got and the Tar Heels never held a lead.

UNC went on a 20-12 run in the middle of the first half that made it a one-possession game, but Auburn built its lead back up to eight by halftime. The Tigers went on a 16-9 run out of the gate in the second half and remained in front the rest of the way.

Auburn shot 43.5% from the field, 36.7% from 3-point range and 82.4% from the free-throw line. The Tigers were led in scoring, rebounds and assists by Broome who had 23, 19 and five respectively. Six members of the team scored in double-figures.

“Doing whatever it takes to win. I had to spark my team,” Broome said. “I had to come out and give a spark early. I know Carolina is a great team.”

North Carolina shot 43.5% from the field, 36.7% from 3-point range and 82.4% from the free-throw line. The Tar Heels were led in scoring by Seth Trimble with 17 points, in rebounds by Ven-Allen Lubin with nine and in assists by Elliot Cadeau with three.

Ja’Heim Hudson and Jahki Howard have yet to return for Auburn after the incident on the team’s flight to Houston earlier this month.

“This is a huge win,” Pearl said. “We’re trying to get our kids back to the hotel tonight because Memphis is as quick, fast and athletic as any team we’re going to play. Fatigue is going to be a factor. Now we have a chance to get a championship. It’s going to take an unbelievable effort. It should be a great matchup.”

Auburn has a chance to become the third SEC team to win the Maui Invitational, joining Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Tigers will take on Memphis in the Championship Game Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. ESPN will carry the television broadcast. 

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the fourth-straight game, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.

• With the win, Auburn improved to 4-1 in two all-time appearances in the Maui Invitational and advanced to the finals for the first time with an 85-72 victory over No. 12 North Carolina.

• AU has won both games against North Carolina under head coach Bruce Pearl after the fifth-seeded Tigers defeated the top-seeded Tar Heels, 97-80, in the 2019 Midwest Regional Semifinals. It was the second-straight game in the series to beat UNC by double figures (+13).

• The win was Auburn’s third victory over a ranked opponent this season after the Tigers defeated fourth-ranked Houston, 74-69, on Nov. 9 and No. 5 Iowa State, 83-81, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational on Monday.

• Auburn is off to a 6-0 start for the third time under head coach Bruce Pearl after starting 15-0 in 2019-20 and 8-0 in 2022-23.

• The win marked Coach Pearl’s 206th victory in his 11 seasons at Auburn, putting him seven wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games 14 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, for the most career coaching wins in program history.  

• Auburn matched its season high with seven blocked shots, which the Tigers previously did against Vermont and No. 4 Houston. Johni Broome led Auburn with three blocks, while Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson each added a pair of blocks.

• Cardwell played in his 134th career game, tying Frankie Sullivan for second in program history.

• The Tigers placed six players in double figures for the first time since doing so last season against Indiana.

• Broome recorded a game-and team-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting including 2-of-4 from long range and 3-of-4 from the foul line. He added a career-high 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocks against the Tar Heels. It was Broome’s third-straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He turned in his 64th career double-double before halftime with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. Broome finished the night with 1,167 career points during his time on The Plains, passing Korvotney Barber for 29th on Auburn’s career scoring list.

• Miles Kelly scored 15 points for the third-straight game against North Carolina after reaching the mark in each of the last two seasons against the Tar Heels while playing for Georgia Tech. Kelly, who scored 12 points in the second half, was 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range and pulled down two rebounds in the victory. It marked his fourth game in double figures this season and third straight. His three 3-pointers give him 200 three-point field goals in his career and are his most since making seven 3-point field goals in the season opener against Vermont.

• Chad Baker-Mazara recorded his fourth-straight game in double figures and his fifth of the season with 14 points on 4-of-8 field goals including a pair of 3-pointers and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also added seven rebounds and a steal versus UNC.

• Chaney Johnson came off the bench and scored in double figures for the fourth time this season with 11 points on 5-of-10 field goals. He added eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots on the night.

• Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford each added 10 points in the win over North Carolina.  Jones, playing in his 100th career game, made a pair of three pointers and added three assists and two steals against the Tar Heels. It was Jones’ fourth-straight game in double figures and his fifth of the season.

• Pettiford made a pair of 3-pointers and added three assists, two rebounds and one steal to the winning cause. The freshman is averaging 15.0 points per game and shooting 50.0 percent from long range in Auburn’s three wins over ranked opponents.