NIT Observations: Auburn 88, Illinois State 66

The Tigers were at their heel-ish best in the NIT semis, taking out fan-favorite underdogs with scorching offense and swarming defense.

(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)

INDIANAPOLIS — As soon as Illinois State took the court Thursday night, Kevin Overton heard the noise and said just two words to his Auburn teammates.

“Road game.”

And then he smiled.

It’s safe to say the majority of the NIT semifinals crowd in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse was behind the Redbirds. Illinois State’s campus is less than three hours away.

Not only was Illinois State the only Midwestern representatives left — it was the only non-1 seed, meaning any neutrals or leftover fans from the first semifinal between New Mexico and Tulsa would likely be joining in the cheers for the underdog.

It had been a while since the Redbirds had played in front of a home crowd of sorts. Illinois State had to beat both high-major Wake Forest, then bigger mid-major Dayton, on the road to Indianapolis. This was a battle-tested Cinderella in the postseason.

Meanwhile, Auburn hadn’t played in an environment like this one in almost a full month. The Tigers got to dispatch three straight teams at home in order to punch their ticket to the NIT semifinals as the overall No. 1 seed. This was a different spot.

But it was a spot that this program has been familiar with in recent seasons: Having to play the heel and win when most of a building really doesn’t want to see that happen.

And Auburn made sure to jump on the babyface as soon as the bell rang.

“They had a tremendous turnout from their fans,” Steven Pearl said after Auburn’s 88-66 win. “And I thought that gave our guys a little extra juice in the building, playing in a road environment, almost. They came out and threw the first punch.”

Illinois State, the fan-favorite underdog, hit a couple of early comeback spots. The Redbirds took a pair of leads in the opening minutes. But the Tigers soon went on an 8-0 run to take control, flexing their high-major muscles with overpowering offense.

And, when Auburn locked in defensively for a long stretch, it turned into a squash.

There wasn’t any let up until the end. Auburn spent most of the second half up by at least 20 points, and it kept stringing buckets and stops together. Illinois State never got within 15 for the final 16:30. The Tigers had to keep these Redbirds on the mat.

“We knew the team that we were playing,” point guard Tahaad Pettiford said. “We knew that they love being down in those type of situations. They thrive being down in the second half.

“So we knew we had to keep our foot on the gas and just couldn't give up — because we knew any chance, any part of the game, they can just make a run and come back.”

No such luck for the underdog, not even in the home of Hoosiers. Illinois State’s largest run of the game was 6-0, and that was early. Auburn had five runs just as long after that one. Between the final three minutes of the first half and nearly the first eight minutes of the second half, Illinois State hit two shots. Auburn hit seven.

This was relentless, take-care-of-business basketball from a favorite playing with real joy — even though it lost 16 games this season and missed out on the big tournament.

“We were all just flowing,” said leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, who scored 24 points in his best game in quite some time. “Just smiling. Happy. Just playing.”

Auburn will now get a chance to end what was mostly a tough season for the program with a victory and a trophy. It’s a consolation prize, yes. But it’s one that beats sitting around at home or getting knocked out very early from the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m proud of my guys,” Pearl said. “I’ve said it a million times. We took a really difficult situation not getting in on Selection Sunday, and I think we’ve turned it into a positive. They are playing with a level of joy that is really good for me as a coach to see.”

The Tigers will have two full days to prepare for their grand finale in Indy. Tulsa, which won its 30th game of the season earlier Thursday night, will be the clear best team Auburn has played in the NIT. The Golden Hurricane is the real deal.

But Auburn has come a long way from where it was just a few weeks ago, stinging after a late-season slide kept it from the Big Dance. The Tigers have shown why they felt like it was important to accept this bid. They’ll now get to max out their bonus ball.

It’s not the tournament run Auburn wanted at the beginning. It’s definitely not the tournament run that the public wanted to see in this NIT. But that suits this team.

Auburn is just one win away from making sure the heel leaves with a title belt.

“Just to finish what we came here for,” Pettiford said. “We came to win it all, and that's what we're looking forward to doing. Just got to get back and get ready for Sunday.”

Here are four Observations from Auburn’s 22-point win over Illinois State in the NIT semifinals, along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and Quote of the Night.

Hard-nosed defense turned into super-easy offense