It was not the best version of Auburn basketball, but it was enough to survive and advance. The Auburn Tigers took down the 16-seed Alabama State Hornets Thursday afternoon 83-63 in a game where Bruce Pearl's squad struggled for most of the first half.
The Tigers were sluggish to start things off, with Miles Kelly's four made three-pointers were the only thing keeping Auburn in the game.
"First of all, give Alabama State credit for being here and having the run like they did," said Pearl after the game, per Auburn Rivals. "I thought we lacked some effort and energy, some focus. Thank God Miles Kelly didn't. We definitely had a couple of guys really step up."
Kelly was the Tigers' leading scorer with 23 points, followed by 16 points from freshman Tahaad Pettiford, who struggled in Auburn's last matchup. Johni Broome earned his nineteenth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Chaney Johnson returned to full form to add 13 points.
Though Auburn basketball ultimately won by 20 points, they struggled to pull ahead in the first half and didn't play like the No. 1 overall seed. In the second half, the Tigers locked in on defense and were able to take command of the game.
"We gotta sharpen some things up," head coach Bruce Pearl said on the CBS broadcast after the win, per Bleacher Report. "We didn't play great. Good thing is we saw zone, we saw man, we saw a bunch of different things from Alabama State. They made us think a little bit. We've got to play a lot better to beat Creighton on Sunday"
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday to face the 9-seed Creighton Bluejays in the Round of 32. Creighton took down 8-seed Louisville on Thursday afternoon in dominant fashion, winning 89-75.