WHO: 9-seed Auburn Tigers (20-12, 10-8 SEC)
WHEN: 5:50 PM CT (Thursday, March 16, 2023)
WHERE: Legacy Arena (Birmingham, AL)
TV: TNT (Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, and Tracy Wolfson)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen) | XM 201 or SXM 964
MOBILE: March Madness Live
ONLINE: March Madness Live
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome |
@IowaHoops | @IowaonBTN
LINE: Auburn -1.0
KENPOM: Auburn -1 (54% chance of winning)
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE
Iowa
G
Tony Perkins (12.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.4 bpg, 44.4 FG%, 33.8 3FG%)
G
Ahron Ulis (6.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.1 bpg, 40.1 FG%, 32.8 3FG%)
F
Connor McCaffery (6.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.0 bpg, 37.8 FG%, 33.0 3FG%)
F
Kris Murray (20.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 bpg, 48.4 FG%, 33.9 3FG%)
F
Filip Rebraca (14.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.5 spg, 1.0 bpg, 57.1 FG%, 33.3 3FG%)
Auburn
G
Wendell Green (13.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.1 bpg, 36.3 FG%, 29.5 3FG%)
G
KD Johnson (8.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 38.3 FG%, 32.7 3FG%)
F
Allen Flanigan (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.3 bpg, 44.7 FG%, 35.0 3FG%)
F
Jaylin Williams (11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.8 bpg, 46.8 FG%, 35.8 3FG%)
C
Johni Broome (14.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.9 spg, 2.3 bpg, 52.9% FG, 27.6 3FG%)
PREVIEW
Auburn expected to be back in the NCAA Tournament -- but not in the 8/9 game. The Tigers were ranked as high as #11 in the AP Poll this season and spent a total of 15 weeks ranked. That was all before the bottom dropped out on their season, though. After a 16-3 start overall (including a 6-1 mark in SEC games), Auburn went just 4-9 to finish the season.
That said, Auburn isn't too far off from a much better record on the season and a different narrative for the season. Six of those nine losses were by five points or fewer, and four were one-possession losses. If a few different bounces go their way or a few different shots go in, the outlook could look different for this team.
Shooting is not a strong suit of this Auburn team, though. Despite an offensive efficiency rating that's in the Top 50 in the nation, the Tigers were just 223rd nationally in effective FG% (49.6%). They were one of the nation's worst 3-point shooting teams (31.4%, 315th) and also fairly poor at the free throw line (70.4%, 244th). The Tigers also had a tendency to turn the ball over a lot (18.1% turnover rate, 172nd), especially via steals (10.4% steal rate, 310th).
The Tigers were decent at converting 2-point attempts (51%, 145th), but their offensive strengths this season have been on the offensive glass and getting to the free throw line. Auburn posted a 33.3% offensive rebounding rate (44th), so the Tigers are very good at collecting their misses and getting second chance shot opportunities.
The Tigers also ranked 67th in free throw rate and average around 21 trips to the line per game (making about 15 of those attempts per game, on average). Of course, one of Iowa's defensive strengths is not fouling (Iowa ranks 12th nationally in defensive free throw rate); if the Hawkeyes can win that battle in this game, they can prevent Auburn from getting easy points at the free throw line.
MORE HERE:
https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-iowa-mbb-vs-auburn-ncaa-tournament-
