Auburn drubs Illinois State, will face Tulsa in NIT final

Keyshawn Hall was nearly unstoppable in a 24-point outing for overall No. 1 seed Auburn, and the sharp-shooting Tigers walloped Illinois State 88-66 in Thursday night’s second NIT semifinal in Indianapolis.

The smooth left-hander, who averages 19.4 points per game, stroked 10 of 16 shots from the field, including 2 of 4 from deep, and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

With the victory, first-year coach Steven Pearl’s Tigers (21-16) advanced to meet fellow No. 1 seed Tulsa in Sunday night’s title matchup.

The Golden Hurricane toppled New Mexico 74-69 in the night’s first semifinal.

Kevin Overton went 5 for 5 from deep among his 16 points, while Filip Jovic scored 13. Tahaad Pettiford totaled 12 points, five assists, three rebounds, two of Auburn’s 13 steals and two blocks.

The Tigers made 34 of 56 (60.7%) from the field and 12 of 21 (57.1%) from beyond the arc.

Ty’Reek Coleman scored 17 points and Ty Pence and Chase Walker had 13 apiece for the Redbirds (23-13), who went toe-to-toe with the Southeastern Conference school for the first 10 minutes but could not maintain the offensive pace.

The Missouri Valley Conference school committed 18 turnovers that led to 26 Auburn points.

The early tempo favored Auburn’s style of play as both teams shot above 60% from the floor and 3-point range in the first eight-plus minutes.

Auburn’s Overton scored six points and Hall added five, while Illinois State’s Johnny Kinziger tallied five as the Power Five squad led 21-16.

Pettiford’s four-point play at 8:36 on a 30-foot trey and a foul put Auburn ahead 33-24 as he, Overton and Hall proved to be too much in the final 10 minutes of the half.

The Tigers increased the lead to double digits with a late 7-0 run and led 51-38 at halftime.

Hall poured in 15 points and Overton added 12 – combining for 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

Auburn shot 65.6% (21 of 32) overall and canned 7 of 11 (63.6%) 3-pointers, while Illinois State hit 16 of 28 (57.1%) and half of their 12 3-point attempts.

Hall remained hot by scoring seven points in the first four minutes of the second half, and Pettiford drained a trey from the wing as Auburn sprinted out to a commanding 61-41 lead at 15:35 and never let up.

–Field Level Media