LEXINGTON, Ky. — “They can’t guard me!”
Creighton senior guard Steven Ashworth shook his head, smiled and said those words to no one in particular on Rupp Arena’s press row Saturday night, after shaking free and burying his third 3-pointer at the expense of No. 1 overall seed Auburn. Ashworth was justified in his analysis, though it was more a case of “aren’t doing it right” than a case of “can’t” with Bruce Pearl’s increasingly frustrating Tigers.
South No. 9 seed Creighton led 37-35 at the half, Ashworth had 11 points and five assists, and the Bluejays’ nine 3-pointers in the first half spoke to good things ahead — they came into the game with a 17-3 record when hitting at least that many.
Make it 17-4. The “can’t” turned out to be Ashworth and his backcourt mates in trying to hold down Auburn guards Tahaad Pettiford, Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones.
Those three combined for 39 of Auburn’s 47 points after the break in an 82-70 comeback win, making up for a brutal combined shooting night of 5-for-21 from Auburn stars Johni Broome and Miles Kelly.
And Jones did much more than that. His defense on Ashworth in the second half was superb, sticky and lacking in no detail. Ashworth had 13 points when the game was over. He took five shots in the second half, all high-difficulty misses, until a meaningless layup with 35 seconds left.
It was the kind of effort, led by Jones, that can give the Tigers (30-4) some momentum entering a South Regional semifinals matchup Friday in Atlanta against No. 5 seed Michigan. Jones had 15 points, Pettiford had a game-high 23 with six assists and Baker-Mazara scored 17.
Baker-Mazara turned the game early in the second half, spearheading a 10-0 run over 92 seconds that gave Auburn the lead for good. He also got hurt during that stretch on a drive to the basket and was able to return just briefly, limping heavily. He said after the game that got kneed in the hip and will be fine.
Auburn is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since its lone Final Four run, in 2019 under Pearl. This is the program’s sixth all-time advance to a regional semifinal, and it’s Pearl’s ninth NCAA Tournament win at Auburn, tops in program history.
(Photo of Chad Baker-Mazara: Jordan Prather / Imagn Images)
