The Maui Invitational semifinal on Tuesday night that will pit No. 4 Auburn against No. 12 North Carolina in Lahaina, Hawaii, came together through a combined 39 points’ worth of comebacks on Monday.
Auburn (5-0) completed its rally from a 16-point halftime deficit and a gap of as many as 18 points against No. 5 Iowa State in dramatic fashion.
Tough defensive pressure forced an Iowa State turnover, and Auburn’s Johni Broome came up with it.
On the change of possession, Broome rolled to the rim after setting a screen for Denver Jones, and Broome tipped Jones’ missed shot attempt in with one second remaining. The putback broke an 81-81 stalemate to give Auburn the 83-81 victory, its second over a top-five-ranked opponent this season.
The Tigers beat then-No. 4 Houston on Nov. 9, 74-69.
“Not since 1990 when Kansas did it has a team started 5-0 with two top-five wins,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl noted in his postgame press conference. “So, to this point, we’ve made history. But we’re not celebrating.”
The Tigers don’t have much time to bask in the afterglow of their comeback victory, turning around for Tuesday’s semifinal vs. a North Carolina team that rallied from 21 points down early in the second half against Dayton.
The Tar Heels (4-1) surrendered a 14-0 run in the first half, which was the catalyst for Dayton scoring 31 points in the final nine minutes before halftime. The Flyers took an 18-point lead into intermission.
Behind RJ Davis’ 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Seth Trimble’s 27 points and 10 rebounds, North Carolina chipped away throughout the second half en route to a 92-90 win. Among Davis’ assists was a driving bounce pass that found Drake Powell in the corner for what proved to be the ultimate go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining in regulation.
Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said his team needs to avoid digging deep holes. North Carolina previously fell behind by 15 points at halftime on Nov. 8 at No. 1 Kansas, and the team’s furious second-half rally then fell just short in a 92-89 loss.
“This isn’t sustainable. You can’t do this every game,” Davis said in his postgame press conference. “That’s going to be one of the major steps with this team. Can they play with a sense of urgency on both sides of the floor? Can they start there, and can they stay there for a full 40 minutes?”
“Those are things we’ll talk about … in preparation for playing Auburn,” he added.
Central to being prepared to play Auburn is preparing for Broome. His closing sequence on Monday capped a 21-point, 10-rebound effort from the 2023-24 third-team All-American.
Broome carries three straight double-doubles into Tuesday’s semifinal, having gone for 18 points and 12 rebounds on Nov. 13 vs. Kent State, and 30 points with 17 rebounds vs. North Alabama on Nov. 18.
Auburn has six players averaging in double-figures scoring per game, led by Broome at 20.2. Among them, Chad Baker-Mazara added 18 points on Monday, and Miles Kelly and Jones each had 12.
Baker-Mazara finished Monday’s game despite coming up limping at one point after bumping knees with an Iowa State defender. His postgame comments suggest he will be ready to play on Tuesday.
“I always say, my mama raised a warrior. If I’m not dead, I’m going out there on the court,” he said.
