Quick thoughts: Auburn flies past Houston
Auburn took down No. 4 Houston with two all-star performances leading the way against one of the most highly lauded defenses of recent years.
Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford deserve all the praise in the world for how they played down the stretch, but Auburn’s game plan, offensive actions, and intensity on both ends was all top-tier against a favored Houston team. And Broome and Pettiford played big roles in all of those areas, especially down the stretch.
The win was significant for Auburn’s program, being the first top five win since the Final Four season, but it was also a statement win for this season.
Auburn went toe-to-toe with Houston’s elite defense, and Auburn won the battle. The Tigers had the personnel to execute a tough game plan against a top five team and showed the nation that the analytics from the past two seasons aren’t flukes, and that the ceiling is high and attainable.
Pettiford’s big day
The freshman phenom is good at basketball. There’s no way around it. He has an elite handle, a great shot, he’s good at getting to and finishing at the rim, and the list goes on.
I talked about why Pettiford was a dangerous weapon against Houston’s defense in my preview, but even I wasn’t expecting him to pop off in the way he did.
We saw Pettiford crack the code against Houston, and not in a warm-up game against an inferior team. It was against elite perimeter defenders and a unique defensive style, and Pettiford was moving them around with ease.
In the first half, Pettiford was getting beat, going under screens, and getting targeted, but he locked in on defense and played his part without getting pulled again.
Clearly Pettiford’s offense stole the show, but seeing him do what he needed to do defensively to stay on the court for Bruce Pearl is meaningful for the rest of the season.
The threes were the flashiest part of Pettiford’s game and arguably the most impressive. Not only was he five-of-eight from deep against a team that held opponents to 30 percent shooting on threes last season, but he created an insane amount of space off the dribble against really good defenders.
Pettiford’s ability to process Houston’s ball screen defense was equally impressive to me. Houston’s defense was somewhat ineffective once Pettiford got rolling, and he had three assists and zero turnovers. Even on plays where Pettiford didn’t pick up an assist, his pace, handle, and processing ability kept Houston’s defense from getting as many traps or turnovers as it usually does.
Pettiford looked like a pro point guard when it came to scoring and creating against Houston, especially after he found chemistry with Broome in the pick and roll.
He didn’t just rely on his shooting ability or athleticism. He used his basketball IQ, his handle, and showed off a lot of his game.
We’ve seen freshman have big games early in the season and then quiet down as teams get more film on them, but having a game like this against Houston gives me a lot of confidence in Pettiford’s mentality and ability to keep it going.
Tonight was equally as promising as it was impressive.
Broome is unstoppable
It wasn’t as much of a surprise to see Broome get whatever he wanted, but it was as impressive and as dominant of a second half that anyone could have asked for.
Broome had 16 points on 8-10 shooting in the second half. He also had nine rebounds, five blocks, and two steals by the end of the game — including a steal and block on Houston’s last possession.
He scored from the high post and low post, no matter what Houston did to stop him. It wasn’t like Broome did anything new, but everything he did inside the arc was elite. I can’t think of a college big I’d rather have on my team, and I think this game will solidify him in the national player of the year race.
Auburn’s game plan
Offensively, Auburn did a lot of the same things it did when it played Houston in the tournament a few years ago. But, this time Auburn had much better depth and players more capable of executing the game plan and matching up with Houston physically. That’s a good sign, because it shows that the vision and overarching gameplan that Auburn has been working toward is in reach.
Everyone played their role for Auburn against Houston. Chaney Johnson had the first double-double of his Auburn career in 31 minutes. Denver Jones made clutch free throws and played great defense despite not getting his number called much on offense. Chris Moore played well in a reserve role. Chad Baker-Mazara made more clutch plays after missing most of the game in foul trouble.
It wasn’t just the individual performances in this one though, Auburn moved Houston’s defense around and had players making quick decisions and good passes. There aren’t many teams able to get such good looks and avoid Houston’s traps/blitzes at the rate this Auburn team did.
Auburn even called the shots, playing its two bigs and overpowering Houston from the start. Auburn tied Houston in rebounding, had more steals, more blocks, and held Houston to 41 percent shooting from the field compared to Auburn's 53 percent.
This game was also significant because Auburn played the hot hand. Instead of trying to keep guys fresh with substitutions and focusing on defensive pressure, Auburn rode the hot hands once it was clear who was having the best night.
Other highlights:
Auburn shot 57 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, and 83 percent from the line in the second half, dishing out 11 assists to just four turnovers.
In addition to his first double double at Auburn, Johnson also had four assists — continuing the Jaylin Williams comparison.
With the foul trouble and some of the poor shooting nights from usual deadeyes, this Auburn team—even though it just had one of the biggest wins in program history—can still improve during the course of this season.
Jones had a quiet shooting night and still hit clutch free throws down the stretch and had three assists to just one turnover.