INDIANAPOLIS – After winning three National Invitation Tournament games in nine days, Auburn appreciates the eight-day layoff between the NIT quarterfinals and Thursday’s semifinal against Illinois State in Indianapolis.
“It’s good to still be playing basketball,” said Auburn coach Steven Pearl, whose team flew to Indiana Tuesday after practice. “Excited about the opportunity to go up to Indy and play against another quality opponent on ESPN. A little bit of a wait to get to Thursday night but it’s been good for our guys to get their legs back and take a couple days off.”
The extra rest came in handy for Auburn’s seven-man rotation.
“It’s been really beneficial for our guys to have a little time off to get recharged for this last push,” Pearl said.
To advance to the NIT semifinals for the first time in program history, the Redbirds beat Kent State at home, then won road games at Wake Forest and Dayton.
The Tigers, meanwhile, knocked off South Alabama, Seattle U and Nevada, all at Neville Arena, to earn their first trip to the NIT semis.
“If you look at the resume of teams playing in the NIT, they by far have the best one, as far as the teams they’ve beaten,” Pearl said. “They have really good pieces and they’re playing their best basketball right now.”
Illinois State’s defense, ranked No. 37 nationally in scoring at 67.9 points per game, will test Auburn’s starting five, all of whom are averaging double figures in the NIT.
“They’re really good defensively,” Pearl said. “They play hard. Try and make things difficult for you. They’ve very physical. They do a great job of limiting you to one shot.”
At 6-9, 280 pounds, left-handed power forward Chase Walker leads the Redbirds in scoring with 13.7 points per game and rebounds with 5.4.
“An absolute handful underneath,” Pearl said of Walker, who’s shooting 62.9 percent and averaging 15.6 points per game in the NIT. “He’s surprisingly quick with his feet. We have to try to match his physicality and his effort. It’ll be a challenge, but our guys have gone against really good bigs all year.”
In historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, which opened in 1928, Auburn (20-16) tips off against Illinois State (23-12) Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network, where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will call the action.
“Another great test for our guys,” Pearl said. “Really cool that we get to play in Hinkle Fieldhouse. I have a great appreciation for that state and their love for basketball. The place is going to be chaos but I’m really glad that we get to be a part of it. A big game in a great venue on national television.”
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
- Auburn has used the same starting lineup for all three NIT games and all five starters are averaging double figures during this tournament: Kevin Overton (17.0 ppg), Keyshawn Hall (14.7 ppg), Elyjah Freeman (12.6 ppg), Tahaad Pettiford (12.0 ppg), Filip Jovic (10.7 ppg).
- Sophomore Tahaad Pettiford is 11 points away from becoming the 41st player in program history to join Auburn’s 1,000-point club. Pettiford is averaging 15.3 points per game and has scored 549 total points this season.
- In their last two games against Seattle and Nevada, the Tigers have played with the lead for 74:41 out of 80 minutes.
- Filip Jovic was 9-of-12 for 18 points and had nine rebounds against Nevada. It was his second highest output of the season (23 vs. South Carolina) and Jovic is now shooting 61.9 percent in the NIT (13-of-21) and 63.6 percent overall for the season (77-of-121).
- Illinois State defeated Kent State by 21 in the opening round of the NIT, then notched back-to-back Quad 1 road wins at Wake Forest (78-75) and at Dayton (61-55) to advance to the semifinals. The Redbirds boasts the nation’s 37th ranked scoring defense, allowing just 67.9 points per game. ISU has held 19 opponents under 70 points this year.
