SALT LAKE CITY – Giving "Auburn Fast" a new meaning, the Tigers raced past Kansas 89-75 Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.
"We're awfully excited to advance to the Sweet 16," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We're just grateful, all of us, for the opportunity to represent Auburn in this kind of competition.
"Tremendous respect for the Kansas program. It was an honor to compete against them. The reality is, our Auburn basketball team is a better team than Kansas. We've got some firepower. We like to think we're tough to play against because we've got 10 guys who can play, and they all contribute. It really wasn't an upset. I thought the better team won tonight."
Running and gunning to a 34-8 advantage in fast-break points, Auburn played a nearly flawless first half to take a 51-25 lead.
Bryce Brown scored 25 points to lead Auburn (28-9) to Kansas City for the Midwest Regional semifinals with a Friday matchup against the winner of Sunday's North Carolina-Washington game, the Tigers fifth Sweet 16 appearance.
Brown made four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes to put Auburn ahead 23-9. His fifth 3 gave Auburn a 40-20 lead.
"It starts on the defensive side of the ball with us," Brown said. "Typically when we start off hot on the defensive end, we start off hot on the offensive end. We get out in transition, knock down shots. If we continue to do that, we'll continue to win ballgames and go even farther."
Anfernee McLemore's 3-pointer extended the lead to 24 with 2:03 remaining, then Jared Harper scored with 4 seconds left to give Auburn its largest lead of the half, 26 points.
"We were able to force them into turnovers and get rebounds, and just run the floor on them, and they weren't able to run with us and get back on defense," McLemore said. "That's why we were able to get such a good lead because we were making so many points in transition, whether it was 3s or layups. They had a hard time guarding us in transition."
Auburn committed only two turnovers in the half while forcing eight, leading to a 12-1 edge in points off turnovers and a remarkable 26-1 lead in fast-break points.
Showcasing fresh legs after more than 48 hours of rest between games, Auburn kept the pressure on in the second half, leading by 27 after Austin Wiley's bucket capped a 9-0 run before Kansas narrowed the gap in the closing minutes.
Two days after defeating New Mexico State 78-77 in the opening round, this time the Tigers sprinted to their locker room, shouting "Sweet 16, baby!"
Harper scored 18 points, Chuma Okeke added 12, and McLemore added 11. McLemore, Okeke and Samir Doughty each grabbed five rebounds, helping Auburn win its 10th straight game.
"It feels great for us, being able to be a part of history, be able to make history here at Auburn," Harper said. "It was a goal of ours to be able to come in and make history. That was the reason for coming to Auburn, to be able to do that. We played really well today and we're ready to advance even farther."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer