No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State will meet Monday within the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii, in a conflict of school basketball powers that has extra the look of a event championship recreation than that of a first-round contest.
Whereas the high-level matchup is uncommon for the opening spherical, it does give the Tigers and Cyclones an opportunity to see how they stack up among the many NCAA elite.
And though Iowa State (3-0) has hammered three mid-major groups, Auburn (4-0) already owns a measuring-stick victory at then-No. 4 Houston on Nov. 9.
Now comes tougher competitors because the event contains No. 2 UConn and No. 10 North Carolina, in addition to three different groups that arrive in Maui with undefeated information — Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.
“The subsequent 4 video games are towards Elite 8-caliber groups,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl stated, referring to the event video games in addition to together with a Dec. 4 date at Duke. “It will be a real check and a real measure of the place we’re at.”
The Tigers are at the moment at place. Along with their win over Houston, they’ve overwhelmed up on three mid-majors.
Johni Broome made 13 of 17 photographs to complete with 30 factors in Auburn’s 102-69 victory over North Alabama on Monday. He additionally pulled down 17 rebounds, whereas Dylan Cardwell made 5 of 6 photographs to complete with 12 factors.
“Our bigs shot an unimaginable share,” Pearl stated. “Johni and Dylan are two of the most effective facilities in faculty basketball and we have each of them.”
In the meantime, the remainder of the Tigers’ starters scored in double figures. Denver Jones delivered 13 factors and 9 assists within the win.
Taking part in three video games in three days shall be an enormous change for Iowa State, which has been one of many least energetic groups in Division I. Its solely three video games have come on the three Mondays in November.
“We have had these experiences in years previous. Final 12 months it did not go as effectively,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger stated, referring to final November when the Cyclones misplaced two of three video games within the ESPN Occasions Invitational.
“Sure, you need to win each recreation, however final 12 months we had an important season and we weren’t pretty much as good at this level,” Otzelberger stated of his crew, which went 29-8 and reached the Candy 16 within the NCAA Match.
With 5 double-digit scorers, the Cyclones have proven steadiness, led by backcourt gamers Curtis Jones (15 factors per recreation), Tamin Lipsey (13.7) and Keshon Gilbert (12.3).
St. Mary’s switch Joshua Jefferson recorded his first double-double for his new crew by accumulating 16 factors and 10 rebounds in Iowa State’s 87-52 victory over IU Indianapolis final Monday. He made all seven of his photographs from the ground.
On Monday evening, the Cyclones face a crew that’s “enjoying as effectively or higher than anybody within the nation,” Otzelberger stated.
“They are a great crew. They strain defensively, actually get after you. They have great depth. They attempt to put on you down,” Otzelberger stated. “Within the Houston recreation, Houston had the lead early and that is what occurred.”
–Area Degree Media