For the second Saturday in a row against a Big Ten team, Auburn men’s basketball made a statement.
The Tigers beat Purdue 87-69 on Saturday, improving to 11-1 on the season. It was another big day for All-American center Johni Broome, as he helped lead Auburn to the dominant win despite injuring his shoulder against Georgia State.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Broome is back
After suffering a shoulder injury minutes into Auburn’s win over Georgia State on Tuesday, there was concern for Broome’s status against Purdue and potentially beyond.
The first good news came on Wednesday, when it was announced Broome’s injury wouldn’t require surgery, but his status for Saturday remained up in the air until less than an hour before tipoff.
He was named a starter shortly before the game began, and he quickly dispelled any doubts of whether or not he could make an impact after his injury. Broome’s first shot attempt was a made 3-pointer, a shot that sent the pro-Auburn crowd inside Legacy Arena into a frenzy early on.
There didn’t seem to be any kind of minutes restriction on Broome, and he was just as effective as normal, finishing the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Suffocating defense
Auburn’s defense was the story of the game early on.
After a fast start where Purdue led Auburn 11-10 at the first media timeout, the Boilermakers were held to just 15 points in the remaining 15:02 of the half.
Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn was responsible for most of Purdue’s early success, but Auburn quickly adjusted. He attracted more help defense and Auburn’s length on the perimeter gave Purdue problems in trying to take advantage.
The Boilermakers came into the game as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country, but like Auburn did to Memphis and Ohio State, it held Purdue comfortably below its average from beyond the arc.
Purdue finished the game shooting 35% from 3-point range and shot 39% from the field overall. However, even those numbers are a little inflated after a late surge with the reserves in the game.
It looked similar to Auburn’s dismantling of Ohio State defensively and it helped the Tigers cruise to another big win.
The final test
With the big win over Purdue, Auburn’s gauntlet of a nonconference slate all but comes to a close.
The Tigers still have a Dec. 30 matchup with Monmouth before Southeastern Conference play begins, but the stretch of high-profile nonconference games is over.
Before the season started, Auburn’s nonconference strength of schedule was a major talking point. From a de facto road game the first weekend against Houston, to a loaded Maui Invitational field, to games against Duke and Purdue, there was a lot to be learned about Auburn in the first two months of the season.
Well, those two months have all but passed and we have learned a lot.
Auburn now sits at 11-1 with notable wins over Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, a 38-point win over Ohio State and Saturday’s 18-point win over No. 16 Purdue.
The lone loss came to Duke, a six-point road defeat to the No. 5 team in the country. Through 12 games, Auburn has all but proven that it’s the best team in the country.
While teams such as Tennessee and Florida may still be undefeated, no other team has a resume that stacks up with Auburn’s.
Fortunately, those debates won’t go on for too long as Auburn will face both of those teams during conference play.
Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com
