Maui Invitational Championship Observations: Auburn 90, Memphis 76
For the second time in 18 hours, the Tigers led a top-notch opponent wire-to-wire. Now, they're coming home with hardware.
(Brian Spurlock/Kemper Sports LIVE)
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Auburn’s journey to a Maui Invitational championship on Wednesday afternoon started 364 days earlier and 4,369 miles away.
On November 29, 2023, Johni Broome scored a career-high 30 points in a home win over Virginia Tech. That date was significant to Broome’s backup, Dylan Cardwell — a center who had been on the Plains longer.
“The first year he was here, I looked at him as an opponent rather than my teammate, and that kind of showed up on the court,” Cardwell said. “I wasn't cheering for him, I wasn't as happy for him as I should've been. Last year, the Lord really challenged me. In that Virginia Tech game, I prayed for Johni in warmups, and he dropped 30. But with him dropping 30, I only played nine minutes.
“The Lord gave me the option: Like, you can either be happy your prayer was answered, or I could be stingy my teammate went off for 30. After that Virginia Tech game, we went on to play in New York. Johni got subbed out, and I went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. The loudest person cheering in that arena was Johni Broome.”
On November 27, 2024, Cardwell scored a career-high 18 points in a tournament final victory over Memphis. That date will be significant to Broome — who locked down MVP honors in Maui with 21 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and a steal — and anyone else affiliated with Auburn basketball.
“Thankful for my teammates, thankful for my coaches,” Broome said after Auburn’s 90-76 win over Memphis. “You know, without them, I wouldn't have this trophy. The Auburn family traveling, I don't think we would've won the tournament without them.
“It felt like home.”
If you weren’t sure if the 2024-25 Auburn Tigers had the potential to be special, the last three days in paradise should have changed your mind.
On Monday, Auburn came back from down 18 to beat one of the best defensive teams in the country. On Tuesday, Auburn led wire-to-wire against one of the best offensive teams in the country. And, on Wednesday, Auburn did the exact same thing against one of the most experienced teams in the country.
Memphis got an eight-hour head start on preparing for Auburn, which had the late semifinal in Maui on Tuesday.
It didn’t matter. Auburn scored 13 of the first 18 points of the championship game and led by multiple possessions for all but 59 seconds. Memphis didn’t come within 13 points for the final 26:37 of regulation.
The offense was efficient (1.429 points per possession), the defense was dominant (Memphis had seven assists to 11 turnovers), the energy was consistent (Auburn was +6 on the boards and had 11 “stocks”), the depth was prevalent (10 players scored and 13 — including two walk-ons — touched the floor) and the chemistry was radiant (23 assists on 34 made shots).
In other words, it was the culmination of what you have come to expect from an Auburn basketball team that looks like a true national championship contender.
“Maui is a prize,” Bruce Pearl said. “We're so happy for the people here in Lahaina that the Maui Invitational — and this field with this incredible group of coaches and programs — were able to come back to the island. And I saw my picture up there on the wall. And it was like, with Bill Self and Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo. And I'm like, what am I doing up here? ‘Pearl must have paid somebody to put his picture up there.’
“But now my team and our coaching staff have put us up there.”
Here are four Observations from Auburn basketball’s championship victory over Memphis in the 2024 Maui Invitational, along with the Rotation Charts, Nerd Stats and the Quote of the Day.
C Johni Broome and C Dylan Cardwell (Brian Spurlock/Kemper Sports LIVE)
This is why Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell wanted to play together
When both Broome and Cardwell decided to come back for their fifth and final seasons of college basketball, Auburn started working on a plan to have them play together. Cardwell deserved more minutes than just backing up Broome, who wanted to showcase his modernized game by playing more power forward.
But getting that double-big lineup to work was much easier said than done.