The Auburn Tigers went into the game against Purdue with question marks about their Player-of-the-Year Candidate, Johni Broome. Well, not only did he play and start in the game, but Broome turned in a masterful performance to lead the Tigers into a complete domination of the Boilermakers in the Battle for Birmingham. No. 2 Auburn (11-1) dominated No. 16 Purdue (8-4) 87-69 inside Legacy Arena on Saturday evening. The win was Auburn’s 7th Quad 1 win of the season.
There are plenty of adjectives to describe the dominant play of the Tigers so far this season. This game showed a bit of it all.
Here are takeaways from the victory.
Defense continues to suffocate
Auburn has been known for defense under Bruce Pearl. This Purdue team had been a team that has had no issue scoring points, particularly from distance. Coming into the game, Bartorvik had Purdue has a Top 30 Team in the country in Effective FG Percentage (EFG%) However, against Auburn, Purde had their lowest EFG% of the season (45.8%). The Boilermakers were just 8 of 23 from 3 in this game for 34.7%, below their average of 39.6%. They also held Big Ten Pre-season Player of the Year candidate and leading scorer, Braden Smith, to just 8 points on 3 of 12 shooting.
The Tigers forced 12 Turnovers leading to 23 points, an area that both Johni Broome and Coach Pearl discussed was an emphasis for the team after the Duke game.
Domination in the paint
Purdue came into the game with a clear strategy, be physical around the basket. Early in the game, it was also clear that Johni Broome, coming in off of his injury, was being tentative inside. That quickly went away after an early post exchange between Broome and Purdue big man, Trey Kaufman-Rent. The 6’9″ Forward for the Boilermakers forced his way to the basket for an early layup against Broome, establishing the tone for the game.
That seemed to be the wake up call that Broome (and the rest of the Tigers needed). Auburn went on to completely establish dominance in the paint, winning that area by a margin of 44-28. To add to the interior dominance, Auburn had 6 blocks on the day. The Tigers also won the rebounding battle 39-34.
Broome, himself, finished with 23 points on 10-15 shooting, most of those points coming in the paint. He showed no signs of the shoulder injury slowing him down.
Final notes
- * Denver Jones continued his hot shooting, going 3-6 from three.
- * Chad Baker-Mazara did a little of everything. Only 8 points but an efficient 4-7 from the field, 5 REBs, 6 ASS, and 2 BLKs
- * Despite having fewer Offensive Rebounds, Auburn doubled Purdue in 2nd chance points (18-9).
- * 24 of Auburn’s 36 Baskets came via an assist.