AUBURN, Ala. – Survive and advance. That's what March Madness is all about. For Auburn, there would not have been a historic run to the Final Four if the Tigers had not survived against a talented New Mexico State team and advanced to the second round.
Auburn found its groove in the second half, knocking down shots and playing its trademark style of basketball. The Tigers led by as many 13 at one point and looked to be in control late, but New Mexico State never quit. The Aggies battled back and down two with two seconds left, Terrell Brown had three free throw attempts to potentially tie or take the lead.
He missed the first, made the second and then the third, to tie, rimmed out. Auburn fans could breathe a sigh of relief. The Tigers were advancing with a 78-77 victory.
"I told our guys the toughest game in the tournament to win is going to be the first one," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Not just because it was New Mexico State, a really well-coached team, but it was the 5-12 matchup. We were the only 5 seed to win. The others all lost to the 12. It's mathematically been almost 50-50, so it was a trap game with Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky looming.
"Our guys respected New Mexico State. They were athletic, they could guard, they had players that could play inside and out. So it was going to be a tough matchup, and obviously we lived the survive and advance motto."
Impact player: J'Von McCormick
Jared Harper led Auburn with 17 points, including 14 in the second half, but it was backup point guard J'Von McCormick who Pearl called the "unsung hero" after the game.
With Harper in foul trouble in the first half, McCormick stepped in and scored six points to help give the Tigers a 32-29 lead at the intermission. In the second half, the junior made a clutch 3-point play (below) down the stretch and then knocked down a pair of clutch free throw to make it a two-possession game (77-73) with 12 seconds left. McCormick played 17 minutes and finished with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting.
"New Mexico State was a really athletic team, so J'Von's speed and athleticism went a long way," Pearl said. "I think it was the month of March last year that really gave J'Von the confidence to be able to come back this year and be such a steady player for us."
Play of the game: "Count it, and one!"
Leading 70-65 with a little two minutes remaining, Auburn had the ball looking for the knockout blow. With the shot clock running down, Harper dribbled left and found McCormick in the corner.
McCormick didn't hesitate. He drove baseline, blowing past his man, and when another New Mexico State defender moved over to try and take a charge, the Auburn guard went up, adjusted in mid-air to avoid the charge and laid it off the glass with his right hand while still taking the contact. He walked off signaling to count the basket and the foul.
The free throw put the Tigers up eight, and as it turned out, they needed all three of those points.
Key stat: Second-half shooting
It was a slow start for Auburn who had just won four games in four days the weekend before to clinch the SEC tournament championship, but the Tigers got going in the second half and shot 58 percent from the field in those final 20 minutes.
Over the final 11 minutes, all but two of Auburn's six field goals were from 3 and one of those resulted in McCormick's three-point play. The Tigers went 9 of 19 from beyond the arc in the second half alone and made 12 of 31 attempts from deep for the game, surpassing 400 made 3-pointers on the season. They became only the seventh team in Division I history to make 400 3s in a season.
In their own words
"I was ready for it. I just had to be mentally prepared and take the shots." – J'Von McCormick
"We got that one behind us. We were exhausted. Five games in eight days. That's a lot. I think it showed. Get that early game out of the way, and a full day's rest tomorrow. I can tell you right now. They will not be on their feet much before Saturday." – Bruce Pearl
Together. #WarEagle x #UnfinishedBusiness pic.twitter.com/LYJ6c0OkJv
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 21, 2019