No. 1 overall seed Auburn puts away Alabama State 83-63 to open March Madness

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Auburn is sticking around this NCAA Tournament longer than last year, even if the Tigers didn't play with the energy coach Bruce Pearl wants to see.

Miles Kelly made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, All-American Johni Broome added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Auburn beat 16th-seeded Alabama State 83-63 on Thursday in the first round of the South Region.

Pearl's Tigers (29-5) lasted one game in 2024, losing to Yale days after winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament. This time, Auburn came in having lost three of four inside the power-packed SEC with a resume still strong enough to earn the top overall seed among the four No. 1 teams.

“We just weren’t sharp,” Pearl said of his Tigers. “One thing you can control. Our teams always play with great effort and energy too or our system doesn’t really work. I just didn’t think we did today.”

Auburn will play No. 9 seed Creighton, an 89-75 winner over eighth-seeded Louisville, in the second round on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.

“We won't beat Creighton if we play like we did tonight,” Pearl said.

Alabama State, whose lone lead was 3-0, didn't make it easy in the first half.

The Hornets fell behind 28-15 but scored the next nine points and pulled within 32-31 on a layup by Amarr Knox, the guard whose buzzer-beater gave the Hornets their victory over Saint Francis on Tuesday in the First Four. Fans inside Rupp Arena started roaring for Alabama State, hoping to see a big upset and bringing energy to the tired Hornets.

Alabama State coach Tony Madlock said he was proud of what his team did for Montgomery, their university and all historically Black colleges and universities to get to the Big Dance and win their first tournament game. And yes, they did something in this game to be proud of.

“(We) had some moments in this game where, you know, we made coach Pearl call timeout,” Madlock said.

Knox had a chance to give Alabama State the lead with 1:27 left in the half, but he missed both attempts at the line.

“I should've made those two free throws,” Knox said. “I definitely should’ve made those.”

Broome scored the first of nine straight for the Tigers, who took a 41-31 lead into halftime. Auburn smothered Alabama State in the second half even with Broome picking up a third foul within the first four minutes.

Tahaad Petitford added 16 points for Auburn and Chaney Johnson had 13.

The Tigers improved to 7-0 against Alabama State (20-16) with this the first NCAA Tournament game between the schools separated by about 50 miles in south Alabama. The historically Black school still goes home with its first NCAA Tournament win in its fifth appearance.

Knox led Alabama State with 18 points. TJ Madlock added 11.

Takeaways

Alabama State: The Hornets had nothing to lose. The Southwestern Athletic Conference program came up with 10 steals and forced Auburn into 12 turnovers.

Auburn: The Tigers had a 46-36 rebounding advantage, but their issues at the free-throw line could prove costly in the second round and beyond. They shot 56.3% (18 of 32).

Up next

The Tigers are trying to get past the first weekend for the first time since their only Final Four in 2019. They lost in the second round in three straight tournaments from 2021-23.

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This story has been corrected. A previous version included an incorrect first name for Miles Kelly.

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