Creighton vs. Auburn: Box score, stats, game summary and more ft. Tahaad Pettiford

The No. 1 seed Auburn Tigers needed a strong second half to outlast No. 9 seed Creighton, 82-70. With the win, Auburn will move along to the Sweet 16 and will face No. 5 seed Michigan in Atlanta. The Tigers faced a spirited battle from Creighton, but were able to survive and advance.

Creighton vs. Auburn Box Score

Creighton

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
R. Kalkbrenner	18	7	1	0	0	2	2
J. Neal	13	2	2	0	0	1	3
S. Ashworth	13	2	8	0	0	4	2
J. McAndrew	12	6	1	1	1	0	1
J. Green	4	3	1	0	0	1	5
F. Zugic	10	2	3	1	0	1	3
M. Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
I. Traudt	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
F. King	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
J. Townley-Thomas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
T. Davis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
S. Osmani	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Auburn

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
C. Baker-Mazara	17	2	1	0	0	0	0
D. Jones	15	1	3	1	0	2	2
J. Broome	8	12	1	1	2	1	3
D. Cardwell	6	4	3	1	2	1	2
M. Kelly	5	0	0	1	0	0	3
T. Pettiford	23	6	3	0	0	2	3
C. Johnson	8	8	0	1	0	0	1
J. Howard	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Creighton vs. Auburn Game Summary

The first half was a back-and-forth battle. Each team's largest lead of the half was just four points. On a 3-point shot by Jackson McAndrew with 27 seconds in the half, Creighton took a 37-35 halftime lead.

Creighton held a 50-48 lead on a pair of Ryan Kalkbrenner free throws with 14:13 to play. But Auburn reeled off the next 10 points in a rally that likely determined the game. Chad Baker-Mazara contributed five points in that run. Baker-Mazara later left the game due to injury but was able to return later.

Creighton pulled within 58-54 on a Kalkbrenner layup, but could not get any closer. Creighton was 12-for-27 from 3-point range in defeat, while Auburn won the rebounding battle by a +10 margin.

Auburn was led by Tahaad Pettiford's 23 points and six rebounds. Baker-Mazara tallied 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Denver Jones added 15 points. National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome had just eight points on 4-for-13 shooting, but did add a dozen rebounds.

Ryan Kalkbrenner paced Creighton with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jamiya Neal added 13 points for the Blue Jays. Steven Ashworth tallied 13 points and dished out eight assists. Jackson McAndrew scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and grabbed six boards. Fedor Zugic added 10 points.

With the win No. 1 seed Auburn moves on to Atlanta. It is only the sixth Sweet 16 appearance in Auburn basketball history and the second under Bruce Pearl. Pearl's previous Sweet 16 run came in 2019, when he took Auburn to its only Final Four.