Top overall seed Auburn reaches first Sweet 16 since 2019, turning away Creighton 82-70
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing, and experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays 82-70 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16.
Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. Pettiford scored six points during that burst to push the Tigers to a 68-54 lead.
The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, Auburn (30-5) moves on to the South Region semifinals in Atlanta next weekend, where it will face No. 5 seed Michigan. Pearl's team was upset in the first round by Yale last year and he had not taken Auburn past the second round since it reached its only Final Four in 2019. This time, his goal is the Tigers' first-ever national title.
Creighton under coach Greg McDermott had reached the Sweet 16 in three of the previous four years. Fifth-year senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 18 points in his final game for the Bluejays (25-11).
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner banked in a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Creighton and came out on top statistically against 6-10 Auburn All-American Johni Broome, who had eight points on 4-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds. Auburn also got 15 points from Denver Jones.
The game featured seven ties and 16 lead changes, and Creighton's perimeter game was on point throughout the first half. The Blue Jays shot 64% from 3-point range and 52% overall to lead 37-35 at the break.
Creighton went ahead 50-48 on two free throws by Kalkbrenner with 14:13 left. Ten seconds later, Baker-Mazara converted a three-point play and Auburn never trailed again. The Tigers shot 60% in the second half.
Baker-Mazara left the game briefly in the second half with a right hip injury but returned.
Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal scored 13 points each for Creighton, and Jackson McAndrew contributed 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Key moment
Broome had a tip-in as the shot clock expired to make it 66-54 during Auburn's decisive run.
Takeaways
Creighton: Ashworth and McAndrew combined to make 6 of 9 3-pointers and score 23 points before halftime. Ashworth managed just two points in the second half.
Auburn: The Tigers' bench outscored Creighton's 31-10. They also outscored the Bluejays 42-24 in the paint and held them to 42% shooting in the final 20 minutes
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Detroit Tigers call up Jahmai Jones; Andy Ibáñez optioned to Triple-A Toledo
The Detroit Tigers have added a new player to their active roster. The Tigers called up Jahmai Jones, a 27-year-old outfielder, from Triple-A Toledo, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation who were granted anonymity because the roster moves are not official. The Tigers optioned infielder Andy Ibáñez to the Mud Hens, following his continued struggles against left-handed pitchers. Advertisement Since July 21, 2024, Ibáñez is hitting .200 with a .578 OPS against left-handed pitchers across 136 plate appearances. He has hit just two home runs off lefties — and three total — during the 319-day stretch. MORE ABOUT THIS: Andy Ibáñez struggling vs lefties. That's a big problem for Tigers Detroit Tigers infielder Jahmai Jones walks out of the batting cage after practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Both Jones and Ibáñez are right-handed hitters with track records of success against left-handed pitchers, so Jones is expected to step into the Ibáñez platoon role — only as an outfielder instead of an infielder. The Tigers need to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Jones, which could result in outfielder Akil Baddoo, currently in Toledo, being designated for assignment. Advertisement In 2025, Jones is hitting .276 with six home runs, 24 walks and 46 strikeouts across 52 games for Triple-A Toledo, posting an .875 OPS. He has made 18 starts in left field, 15 starts in right field and seven starts in center field. Jones has MLB service time in parts of four seasons, hitting .198 with a .535 OPS in 69 games. He has played for the Los Angeles Angels (three games in 2020), Baltimore Orioles (26 games in 2021), Milwaukee Brewers (seven games in 2203) and New York Yankees (33 games in 2024). He had a .238 batting average with the Yankees last season. This story will be updated. Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Advertisement Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Detroit Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers call up Jahmai Jones, option Andy Ibanez to Triple-A
NBC Sports
22 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Blue Jays at Twins Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 6
It's Friday, June 6, and the Blue Jays (33-29) are in Minneapolis to take on the Twins (34-28). Paxton Schultz is slated to take the mound for Toronto against Bailey Ober for Minnesota. The Blue Jays are one of the hottest teams in the MLB. They have won eight of their last 10 games and are now 5.5 games back of the New York Yankees. Despite Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 0-5 poor outing, the Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 last night. Let's dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long. Game details & how to watch Blue Jays at Twins Date: Friday, June 6, 2025 Time: 8:10PM EST Site: Target Field City: Minneapolis, MN Network/Streaming: Sportsnet ONE Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out. Odds for the Blue Jays at the Twins The latest odds as of Friday: Moneyline: Blue Jays (+120), Twins (-141) Spread: Twins -1.5 Total: 8.0 runs Probable starting pitchers for Blue Jays at Twins Pitching matchup for June 6, 2025: Paxton Schultz vs. Bailey Ober Blue Jays: Paxton Schultz, (0-0, 1.84 ERA) Last outing (Philadelphia Phillies, 6/3): 1.1 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs Allowed, 2 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 3 StrikeoutsTwins: Bailey Ober, (4-1, 3.48 ERA) Last outing (Seattle Mariners, 5/31): 4.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts Blue Jays: Paxton Schultz, (0-0, 1.84 ERA) Last outing (Philadelphia Phillies, 6/3): 1.1 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs Allowed, 2 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 3 Strikeouts Twins: Bailey Ober, (4-1, 3.48 ERA) Last outing (Seattle Mariners, 5/31): 4.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type! Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Blue Jays at Twins The Blue Jays have won 8 of their last 10 games 7 of the Blue Jays' last 8 matchups against American League teams have gone under the Total The Twins have covered in 4 of their last 5 games showing a profit of 2.09 units If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Blue Jays and the Twins Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Blue Jays and the Twins: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Toronto Blue Jays at +1.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0. Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
What anonymous coaches are saying about Auburn ahead of the NCAA Super Regionals
What anonymous coaches are saying about Auburn ahead of the NCAA Super Regionals Auburn baseball has made quite an impression this season according to several college baseball coaches. The vibes surrounding the Auburn Tigers ahead of this weekend's super regional are high. From fan support to national media, many are singing the Tigers' praises after the program made a turn from missing the postseason last year to being two wins away from its third College World Series appearance since 2019. Among those that are aboard the Auburn hype train are college coaches around the country. Select coaches, who wished to remain anonymous, shared their thoughts on the Tigers with D1Baseball ahead of this weekend's Super Regionals. One coach spoke on the team's chemistry and the pitching staff's ability to mix pitches to their advantage. 'Auburn is a connected team. Their entire team, their dugout, they are one connected unit. Pitching-wise, they throw a ton of strikes and they can mix both ahead in the count and behind in the count.' Another coach complimented the team's mix of older, mature players and young studs who are contributing at a high level early in their career. One particular Auburn infielder caught the attention of one coach, who credited him for being a hard out. 'They have the perfect mix of older and just aggressive, not scared freshmen. Just super talented. (Eric) Snow gives them good at-bats. I feel like the guy never swings and misses.' Auburn's game one starter, Sam Dutton, has become one of the SEC's top arms since transferring to Auburn last offseason. After struggling to find a place within LSU's rotation, he became Auburn's Friday night ace and has produced quality numbers on the mound: 3.84 ERA with 92 strikeouts with an OBA of .336 in 82 innings with a 7-3 record. One coach broke down what makes him a special arm and how an "early outing" in a game brought a sigh of relief. '(Samuel Dutton) is a mix artist. He's a pitcher. He's going to throw a bunch of different pitches at you in all different counts. You can't just sit on one pitch with him. It cannot happen. He threw versus us in a short stint, and literally, we weren't even close. And then they didn't put him back out there and I'm like 'thank God they took him out.' He was electric. He was phenomenal. He carved us up about as bad as anybody.' Auburn baseball will look to keep its hot streak going this weekend against Coastal Carolina in the Auburn Super Regional. First pitch of game one is set for 8 p.m. CT, with game two getting underway at 2 p.m. CT. Both games will air on ESPN2. Details for the "if necessary" game three will be revealed at a later time. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
