Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl felt that his team would be “exposed” during Saturday’s game with No. 4 Houston, and that is exactly what happened.
However, No. 11 Auburn was exposed in a positive way as they earned a 74-69 win over the Cougars at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Auburn (2-0) trailed Houston (1-0), 67-66 with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. The Tigers then connected on all six free throw opportunities with a jumper from Chad Baker-Mazara over the final 1:50 to seal the win. Auburn also made seven of its final eight shots from the field to seal the victory.
“That’s a big old win right there,” Pearl said postgame. “That’s Auburn being Auburn.”
The lone shooting category that Auburn had the upper-hand in was field goal percentage, where Auburn edged Houston, 53% to 41%. However, Auburn’s ability to use its entire team made a difference.
Auburn’s bench outscored Houston’s 39-17, and held advantages in blocks and steals defensively. The most notable stat of the game was its assist ratio, where Auburn dominated the category, 14-7.
Two Tigers, Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, reached the 20-point mark in the win. The freshman Pettiford scored 21 points, which was headlined by five made three-pointers. Broome followed Pettiford with 20 points of his own, and was one rebound away from notching another double-double.
“Our guys stepped up,” Pearl said. “Johni was absolutely unstoppable. Tahaad Pettiford stepped up and showed up. Big road win for Auburn. A historic win. We needed this. I was so pleased with our competitiveness.”
Auburn will return to Neville Arena for a two-game home-stand starting Wednesday vs. Kent State before making the trek to Hawaii on Nov. 25 to begin its stay at the Maui Invitational. Auburn battles Kent State on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. CT.
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