The Auburn Tigers (32-5 straight up, 21-16 against the spread) are going to the Final Four for only the second time in program history after beating Michigan State 70-64 as a 5.5-point favorite in Sunday’s South Region finals at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Johni Broome led the way with 25 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He made 10-of-13 field-goal attempts, both of his 3-pointers and 3-of-5 attempts from the free-throw line.
Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points and three assists without a turnover, while Miles Kelly finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists without a turnover. Auburn had a 16/6 assist-to-turnover ratio and denied Tom Izzo his ninth career trip to the national semifinals.
Broome left the game with 10:37 left after falling on his right arm. He was taken to the locker room for a quick examination, but the Auburn medical team deemed it as “nothing serious.”
Broome returned to a standing ovation with 5:29 remaining. Then with 4:40 left, he buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend AU’s lead to 60-48 and essentially put the game out of reach.
“That’s why he’s an All-American,” Izzo said. “That’s why he’s a player of the year candidate. Did a hell of a job. … We did most of the things we wanted to do except guard Broome a little better.”
After falling behind 8-6 in the opening minutes, Auburn erupted with a 17-0 run while the Spartans missed 10 consecutive shots and went scoreless for nearly six minutes. Broome’s 3-ball capped the spurt and gave the Tigers a 23-8 advantage.
For only the second time in NCAA Tournament history and the first time since 2008, all four #1 seeds are going to the Final Four. Duke and Houston will meet in one semifinal, while Auburn will get a rematch with Florida in Saturday’s lid-lifter at 6:09 p.m. Eastern at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Florida (34-4 SU, 27-11 ATS) went to Neville Arena on Feb. 8 with star guard Alijah Martin nursing a hip pointer. Without Martin, Auburn was listed as an 11-point home favorite at most books.
Bruce Pearl’s team quickly raced out to a 15-5 lead in the game’s first six minutes, but that was just fool’s gold. Florida responded with a 43-23 run to take a double-digit lead into halftime.
The Gators built the lead to as many as 21 points in the second half thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from reserve guard Urban Klavsar, who went 3-of-3 from downtown and added two assists and one steal in 17 minutes of playing time.
Auburn answered with an 18-6 run to cut UF’s lead to nine on a 3-pointer by Kelly with 8:33 left. However, Todd Golden’s team countered with a 10-4 spurt to build the lead back to 15 points.
UF would go on to win a 90-81 decision, hooking up money-line backers with a +490 payout at FanDuel. The 171 combined points soared ‘over’ the 155.5-point total.
UF senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. paced the Gators with 19 points, nine assists, six rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot. Alex Condon added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, while Thomas Haugh contributed 16 points, nine boards, three assists and three blocked shots.
Will Richard and Denzel Aberdeen were also in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Auburn’s Kelly scored a game-high 22 points, while Broome finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a pair of blocked shots. Pettiford had 14 points and three assists.
As of early Monday morning, most books had Florida installed as a 2.5-point favorite with a total of 160.5. The Tigers were +125 on the money line.
Most spots had UF’s Team Total at 81.5 points, with Auburn’s at 79.
PREDICTION: I have multiple future tickets on Florida, including one at 35/1 odds, an exacta for Duke and Florida to meet in the finals (+250) and a prop for UF to get to the finals (+180). Therefore, I don’t need to press my action on the Gators, especially giving up several points. However, I’m all about taking Florida’s Team Total ‘over’ 81.5 points for two units.
The Gators have scored at least 86 points in nine of their last 10 games. They’re ranked second nationally in offensive efficiency at KenPom.