After a weekend of basketball in Atlanta, it's official: The Auburn basketball team is headed to the Final Four for the second time in six years.
The Tigers defeated Michigan on Friday night in the Sweet Sixteen to earn a spot in the Elite Eight, and then they were up against 2-seed Michigan State on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four. Auburn led the game from start to finish and beat Tom Izzo and the Spartans 70-64 on Sunday evening.
Johni Broome was far and away Auburn's leading scorer with 25 points, and an added 14 rebounds gave Broome his 21st double-double of the season. Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points, and the trio of Chaney Johnson, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones added eight a piece. Once again, Dylan Cardwell was a major factor for the Tigers on defense and helped them secure the victory.
Head coach Bruce Pearl and his Tigers will move on to face Florida— one of four teams that beat them during the regular season— in the Final Four. Here's what the team had to say about the big win.
Bruce Pearl on the doubters heading into March Madness, per Auburn Undercover:
"I thought a lot of people pushed the panic button a little too soon on us. We lost three of four, but we lost at Texas A&M without our starting point guard, we lost to Alabama on a last-second shot in overtime, and we played like crap against Tennessee and lost in the SEC Tournament. It was a little scary, honestly, because if you lose some of those games, you may lose confidence early. But our guys did a wonderful job. … For us to be 32-5 at this point is absolutely ridiculous."
Tahaad Pettiford on the preparation he got from SEC play ahead of the tournament, per Auburn Rivals:
“Obviously the SEC this year was like a gauntlet, so every night we had to be prepared. It wasn't no easy game. So I just feel like coming into March, especially a tournament like this, playing every team, you probably will, we were prepared for it because we played against everybody.”
Chaney Johnson on facing Florida on Saturday, per AL.com:
“I mean, Florida has a great team. They were good enough to beat us at home, so we’ve just got to go game by game. It’s another team in the way of us getting to the National Championship. So, we’ve just got to continue putting our head down, continue staying humble, continue staying hungry. Just go out there and play with great effort and great energy.”
Auburn basketball and Florida will tipoff from San Antonio at 5:09 p.m. on Saturday.