LEXINGTON, Ky. – During warmups, Johni Broome, the best player on the best team in the nation, and his teammates wore shirts that read “Doubt Us.”
That’s utterly ridiculous. Auburn is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers’ march to the Final Four might be inevitable. Even when they don’t necessarily play their best, and their opponent puts up maximum effort, it will take something special to knock them out of the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton’s first half went according to script, but the Bluejays couldn’t sustain control. Auburn’s might and muscle had a lot to do with that. A Tigers’ 82-70 triumph confirmed what we all know. There’s no need to panic. Not from this bunch. After trailing 37-35 at halftime, Auburn led by as many as 14. Nobody doubted the SEC champion. Creighton just proved to be a mild annoyance with its first-half three-point shooting (9-of-14) that evaporated (3-of-13) the rest of the way.
Auburn is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. The Tigers (30-5) advanced to face No. 5 Michigan (27-9) in the South Region on Friday in Atlanta.
“We played Auburn basketball,” coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played like the No. 1 team in the country. We acted like the No. 1 team in the country. We prepared like the No. 1 team in the country. We talked a little bit about (Thursday’s game against Alabama State) and not giving the kind of effort and energy that was required, and, not really trusting one another, sharing it. And the sacrifices that need to be made. Tonight, we put all that behind us, and the guys did a phenomenal job on both ends of the floor.”
“Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers advance to the Sweet 16” 🙌
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
The No. 1 overall seed dances on! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rLGZdO9M5u
Back to the Doubt Us shirts.
The Tigers earned the No. 1 overall seed with 16(!) Quad I victories. No one doubts them as a legitimate national championship contender. If anything, it will be a shocker if they don’t at least reach the Final Four in San Antonio. A mild tailspin before the tournament when they lost three of four says a lot more about the strength of the SEC than it does about them.
“As I said yesterday, Thursday was the first NCAA win for a lot of our guys,” Pearl said. “We haven’t been past the first weekend since 2019, when we got to the Final Four. Being the No. 1 overall seed it would have been disappointing if we didn’t do it again.”
This group is battle-tested. After running through the SEC gauntlet, it is probably refreshing to take on some new opponents. It took a minute to get into gear against No. 9 Creighton (25-11). But when the Tigers did, they shot 60% (15-of-25) in the second half and owned a 37-27 rebounding edge overall. Reserve guard Tahaad Pettiford (23 points) helped make up for a lackluster performance from Broome (8 points, 12 rebounds).
It says a lot about Auburn that it won with its superstar being held in check.
Um… Auburn is the No.1 overall seed. pic.twitter.com/morksizpUJ
— Michael Grant (@MichaelGrant_CJ) March 22, 2025
“For sure, I didn’t have a good offensive game,” Broome said. “I shot 4-for-13 but that’s okay. I came here to win. This season is about winning. I know my teammates got my back and they know I have theirs. My shots weren’t falling, so I just had to do whatever I can to impact winning, and I let everybody else do the scoring.”
After the game, Creighton Greg McDermott summed up what should be obvious to everyone by now.
“We lost to an outstanding team,” he said. “We recognized we were going to have to play a pretty perfect game if we expected to win.”
