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The Auburn Tigers earned a trip to the Elite Eight on Friday night by defeating Michigan, 78-65, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Auburn led 30-29 at halftime and was met with adversity over the early stages of the second half as Michigan jumped out to a nine-point lead with 12:26 to go in the game. Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford hit a three-pointer at the 12:11 mark in the second half to kickstart a 39-17 run that carried the Tigers to the 13-point victory.
Auburn shot a measly 39% from the field in the win, but its 47% second-half shooting was enough to create separation from the Wolverines. Pettiford ended the game with 20 points, which tied Denver Jones for the second-highest scoring output of the game behind Johni Broome's 22-point, 16-rebound effort.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl broke down the game with the media following Friday's win. Here is a recap of everything Pearl said after Auburn's Sweet 16 win over Michigan.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Michigan, the Big Ten tournament champions, on an outstanding year. What an incredible first year for that staff to come in and turn that program around. They were playing really well coming into this tournament, having won the Big Ten tournament. Obviously we went on a 34-8 run in the second half, and it's just the kids' will to win. They just locked down defensively. I thought Dylan Cardwell did an incredible job on (Vladislav) Goldin. I thought Johni, Dylan, Chaney were physical with those guys and didn't let them dominate the game with their size, which they do against most opponents. Then a couple of guards got really hot. They got really heated up. Denver got heated up. Tahaad got heated up. We went to them, and they delivered. Great win for Auburn. Four teams from the SEC in the Elite 8. That's pretty good."
BRUCE PEARL: Wait a second. You had a triple-double today. Look at the stats.JOHNI BROOME: No.BRUCE PEARL: Scored 22 points, he had 16 rebounds and missed 11 shots. You had a triple-double.
"The deal was we turned the ball over a little bit. We made some mistakes, and I let them kind ofjaw at each other a little bit and then go, hey, man, we're good. We're in a great spot. You guys are just pushingeach other. I love the energy. I love the pace. Just slow down a little bit with the ball. We're just rushing."
"First of all, I want to give his father Travis and Ira Bowman, my assistant coach, credit because thoseguys are family friends. The biggest thing with Tahaad was we loved him when he was young. People were interested, they were wondering-- no, I want you to be on my team or be our scorer or whatever. I think Tahaad, he remembered that when he was younger. We didn't waiver from it. He trusted Ira, and he's learned to trust me. He didn't know me very well. I want to give Johni credit in this regard. These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He's got a lot of other stuff going on. But when it comes to just messing around, having fun, he's just sort of loving on that little s**t. That's all he's done. He is a little s**t, you know, and he's loved on him. And you know what, so Tahaad, he cares about Dylan. He cares about the seniors on this team. And he really wants to deliver for them."
"I would say that our guys really appreciated the fans. Obviously it helped elevate their play. But it all stems back to the grind in the sense that this team, to this point, has only lost one game at Texas A&M to a team that wasn't in the Sweet 16. That means they respected their opponents. They didn't fear any of them, and they got ready to play every single night. We just really didn't get upset very often. Giving us the Number 1 overall, which then put us inAtlanta -- the overall Number 1 seed should be able to play close enough to home for your fans to see it. So they gotrewarded."
"If Michigan can turn us over 15 times, Michigan State can turn us over 25 times. So that's aconcern, and these guys know it. So we slopped through our offense. Give Michigan credit, they extended, theybothered us, and Michigan State is going to be even better at it. That's one of the best defensive teams in the country. They're going to be very, very physical with us. We've got to do -- we have some talented players that made some big plays offensively. We have to execute better and work harder and be more physical offensively and take better care of the ball to be able to win the next game."
"Yeah, it's really standard operating procedure. I want them to talk to each other. I want them to get after each other. I want them to encourage each other. I don't want to start coaching them as soon as they walk in the locker room. I want to just let those guys -- let me tell you something. Coaches can help teams win games. Players win championships. I know you hear that all the time. It's really true. When those guys talk about getting stops or taking better care of the basketball or quit rushing offensively, it means a lot more than when I say it. So I let those guys, and that's sort of standard operating procedure. Plus it's a 20-minute halftime, so we had five extra minutes. That's been the way it's been all year long."
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl recaps March Madness win over Michigan
Continue reading...
Auburn led 30-29 at halftime and was met with adversity over the early stages of the second half as Michigan jumped out to a nine-point lead with 12:26 to go in the game. Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford hit a three-pointer at the 12:11 mark in the second half to kickstart a 39-17 run that carried the Tigers to the 13-point victory.
Auburn shot a measly 39% from the field in the win, but its 47% second-half shooting was enough to create separation from the Wolverines. Pettiford ended the game with 20 points, which tied Denver Jones for the second-highest scoring output of the game behind Johni Broome's 22-point, 16-rebound effort.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl broke down the game with the media following Friday's win. Here is a recap of everything Pearl said after Auburn's Sweet 16 win over Michigan.
The opening statement
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Michigan, the Big Ten tournament champions, on an outstanding year. What an incredible first year for that staff to come in and turn that program around. They were playing really well coming into this tournament, having won the Big Ten tournament. Obviously we went on a 34-8 run in the second half, and it's just the kids' will to win. They just locked down defensively. I thought Dylan Cardwell did an incredible job on (Vladislav) Goldin. I thought Johni, Dylan, Chaney were physical with those guys and didn't let them dominate the game with their size, which they do against most opponents. Then a couple of guards got really hot. They got really heated up. Denver got heated up. Tahaad got heated up. We went to them, and they delivered. Great win for Auburn. Four teams from the SEC in the Elite 8. That's pretty good."
Joking with Johni
BRUCE PEARL: Wait a second. You had a triple-double today. Look at the stats.JOHNI BROOME: No.BRUCE PEARL: Scored 22 points, he had 16 rebounds and missed 11 shots. You had a triple-double.
Breaking down a key timeout
"The deal was we turned the ball over a little bit. We made some mistakes, and I let them kind ofjaw at each other a little bit and then go, hey, man, we're good. We're in a great spot. You guys are just pushingeach other. I love the energy. I love the pace. Just slow down a little bit with the ball. We're just rushing."
Why is Tahaad Pettiford so special to this program?
"First of all, I want to give his father Travis and Ira Bowman, my assistant coach, credit because thoseguys are family friends. The biggest thing with Tahaad was we loved him when he was young. People were interested, they were wondering-- no, I want you to be on my team or be our scorer or whatever. I think Tahaad, he remembered that when he was younger. We didn't waiver from it. He trusted Ira, and he's learned to trust me. He didn't know me very well. I want to give Johni credit in this regard. These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He's got a lot of other stuff going on. But when it comes to just messing around, having fun, he's just sort of loving on that little s**t. That's all he's done. He is a little s**t, you know, and he's loved on him. And you know what, so Tahaad, he cares about Dylan. He cares about the seniors on this team. And he really wants to deliver for them."
The "road witnesses" deliver again
"I would say that our guys really appreciated the fans. Obviously it helped elevate their play. But it all stems back to the grind in the sense that this team, to this point, has only lost one game at Texas A&M to a team that wasn't in the Sweet 16. That means they respected their opponents. They didn't fear any of them, and they got ready to play every single night. We just really didn't get upset very often. Giving us the Number 1 overall, which then put us inAtlanta -- the overall Number 1 seed should be able to play close enough to home for your fans to see it. So they gotrewarded."
On shooting woes, what Michigan State brings to the table
"If Michigan can turn us over 15 times, Michigan State can turn us over 25 times. So that's aconcern, and these guys know it. So we slopped through our offense. Give Michigan credit, they extended, theybothered us, and Michigan State is going to be even better at it. That's one of the best defensive teams in the country. They're going to be very, very physical with us. We've got to do -- we have some talented players that made some big plays offensively. We have to execute better and work harder and be more physical offensively and take better care of the ball to be able to win the next game."
Communication is key
"Yeah, it's really standard operating procedure. I want them to talk to each other. I want them to get after each other. I want them to encourage each other. I don't want to start coaching them as soon as they walk in the locker room. I want to just let those guys -- let me tell you something. Coaches can help teams win games. Players win championships. I know you hear that all the time. It's really true. When those guys talk about getting stops or taking better care of the basketball or quit rushing offensively, it means a lot more than when I say it. So I let those guys, and that's sort of standard operating procedure. Plus it's a 20-minute halftime, so we had five extra minutes. That's been the way it's been all year long."
This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl recaps March Madness win over Michigan
Continue reading...
