No. 2 Auburn falls at No. 9 Duke in SEC/ACC Challenge

DURHAM, N.C. – Hundreds of Auburn fans brought a bit of The Jungle to Cameron Indoor Stadium, helping the second-ranked Tigers get off to a fast start before No. 9 Duke took control, winning 84-78 Wednesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge. 

“We’re disappointed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played okay, but to beat Duke in here, you’ve got to play better than that. I give them all the credit. Our defense let us down. Duke was brilliant offensively.”

Trailing by seven points at the half, Auburn fell behind by 12 early in the second half before whittling away at Duke’s lead, pulling within two points three times down the stretch and missing a 3-pointer that would’ve given the Tigers a lead with six and a half minutes to play.

Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with 20 points apiece. Broome logged his sixth consecutive double-double, adding 12 rebounds.

“One of the reasons our team has played well so far this year is Johni has been a tremendously consistent player. He’s clearly a player of the year candidate,” Pearl said. “Tahaad has gotten off to a great start as a freshman. You can see his talent and ability to score, his courage.” 

Pettiford and Miles Kelly each made four 3-pointers, with the latter going 4-for-5 from 3-point range and finishing with 14 points. Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points. 

“We have to step it up,” Pettiford said. “Have to be more aggressive on the glass, getting downhill and finishing on the break.”

Kelly hit a pair of early 3-pointers and Auburn used an 8-0 run to take an 11-point lead, leading to a Duke timeout at the 16:18 mark of the first half. 

Duke freshman Isaiah Evans sparked the Blue Devils off the bench, making 6 of 8 3-pointers and scoring 18 first-half points.

Duke took a six-point lead thanks to a 9-0 run, but Pettiford hit a pair of 3-pointers, then Chaney Johnson scored on a tip-in, got fouled and made the free throw in a 6-0 run that gave the Tigers a 33-32 lead with 3:55 to play before the Blue Devils ended the half on an 11-3 run to lead by seven points at halftime.

Kelly and Baker-Mazara each scored 11 in the first half for the Tigers. Duke outrebounded Auburn 24-15 in the opening half, but the Tigers more than compensated in the second half, grabbing 24 rebounds to Duke’s 10 to win the battle of the boards 39-34.

Freshman Cooper Flagg led Duke with 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

“We learned that we can compete against anyone in the country in any environment,” associate head coach Steven Pearl said, “but we’ve also got to do a better job of playing Auburn basketball, turning teams over, getting back in transition and not letting our offense affect our defense.”

Auburn (7-1) returns to Neville Arena Sunday to play Richmond at 11 a.m. CT, the first game of a doubleheader that features Auburn's women’s team against UAB at 2 p.m. CT.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

POSTGAME NOTES

• Duke now leads 5-0 in the all-time series with Auburn. The Blue Devils have won both of the contests played at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last two games between the two teams have been decided by exactly six points after top-ranked Duke won 78-72 in the semifinals of the 2018 Maui Invitational – Auburn’s only previous meeting with the Blue Devils under head coach Bruce Pearl. 
• Wednesday night’s contest was the first meeting on the coaching sidelines between Coach Pearl and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.
• For the sixth-straight game, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.
• Auburn is now 2-1 on the season when trailing at the half. The Tigers came back to defeat No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Iowa State in the previous two games when they were behind at halftime. Auburn trailed Duke, 43-36, at halftime.
• The Tigers’ 78 points are the most points Duke has allowed this season, one better than Kentucky’s 77 points against the Blue Devils. Auburn’s 10 three-pointers match the 10 by the Wildcats for the most Duke has allowed. AU finished 10-of-25 from 3-point range, reaching double-digit 3-point field goals for the fourth time this season.
• Auburn won the battle of the boards, 39-34, including 24-10 in the second half. The Tigers have outrebounded their opponent in every game but one this season when they were even with Houston. It marked just the second time this season Duke has been outrebounded next to -6 versus Kansas.
• The Tigers pulled down a season-high 15 offensive rebounds resulting in 19 second-chance points, which was also a season high. 
• Auburn had only eight turnovers in the game, which is the fifth time this season the Tigers have had fewer than 10 turnovers including the last three games.
• Auburn placed four players in double figures led by Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, who each scored 20 points in the game. Broome recorded his sixth-straight double-double and his fifth-straight game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He had 15 points and nine boards in the second half, to go with three assists and one block against the Blue Devils. He is averaging 22.2 points and 14.3 rebounds per contest and has shot 57.0 percent (53-of-93) from the floor over his last six games.
• Pettiford added 14 points in the second half and finished in double figures for the fourth time in as many games against ranked opponents on the strength of 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
• Chad Baker-Mazara recorded his sixth-straight game in double figures and his seventh of the season with 17 points including 11 points in the first half. He shot 5-of-8 from the field including 2-of-2 from long range and went 5-of-5 from the foul line. Baker-Mazara also contributed three assists, two rebounds and one blocked shot against the Blue Devils.
• Miles Kelly chipped in with 14 points including 11 points before halftime on 5-of-7 field goals and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He added three rebounds and three steals against the Blue Devils. Kelly has averaged 15.3 points, including 8-of-17 3-pointers, in his last three games versus Duke. He scored 16 points in both of Georgia Tech’s games against the Blue Devils last season.