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Auburn continued its absolutely torrid start to the 2024-25 season on Saturday with a comprehensive beatdown of Ohio State.
The Tigers met the Buckeyes in Atlanta for the Holiday Hoopsgiving event and won 91-53. Johni Broome exploded for 21 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks to help Auburn win its fifth game over a KenPom top-50 team through its first 10.
Auburn’s top-rated offense was once again a machine. The Tigers shot 46% from the field, hit 13 of their 30 3-pointers, and only turned the basketball over 5 times. Denver Jones added 14 points, Jahki Howard chipped in 11, and Dylan Cardwell provided 10 points. Nine Tigers played at least 10 minutes in the game; eight of them scored at least 5 points. Broome was the star, but Auburn did it as a team.
They jumped out to a 25-8 lead on the Buckeyes by the second media timeout, using a stretch of 5 made triples to get a jump on the guard-oriented Buckeyes. Broome scored 11 points during the run, and even during a scoring drought of nearly 7 minutes, Auburn maintained a double-digit lead.
Ohio State shot just 6-for-24 from the field in the first half. Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer, went 0-for-4 and was held scoreless. Devin Royal went 1-for-4 from the field. The Buckeyes only made 1 of their 5 first-half triples, a far cry from the 41% clip they were shooting from 3 coming into the game.
Auburn pushed an 18-point lead to 28 over the final 3 minutes of the half courtesy of 3 triples.
In the second half, the lead just kept growing. Auburn ballooned its margin to as many as 44 points over the final 20 minutes. Ohio State shot just 35% for the game and made 6 of its 16 triples. The 3-ball started falling in the second half, but Ohio State never solved the other side of the floor.
With Auburn running the Buckeyes off the 3-point line (season-low 16 attempts) and burying shots on its own end, the Tigers turned a showcase event into a laugher and added another bullet point to what very well could be a 1-seed résumé.
Auburn (9-1) returns home on Dec. 17 for a game against Georgia State. It’ll face Purdue in Birmingham next Saturday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
