Auburn runs away from top-seeded North Carolina in 97-80 victory in Midwest Regional

The Auburn Tigers’ impressive march through the NCAA Tournament continued with their takedown of another blueblood.

The Tigers defeated North Carolina 97-80 on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals at Kansas City’s Sprint Center and will advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.

A Final Four would be a first for the fifth-seeded Tigers (29-9), who meet the Kentucky-Houston winner on Sunday in the regional final.

Last week, Auburn ran away from Kansas with a barrage of long-distance shots from the game’s outset. On Friday, the Tigers waited a half to unleash their fury.

Auburn made nine of their first 13 three-pointers to open the second half, the ninth a bank shot from Anfernee McLemore with 9:19 remaining to stretch the lead to 76-57.

The Tigers’ lead went from two at halftime to 10 in about 90 seconds. Three-pointers by Jared Harper and Bryce Brown plus a long jumper by Malik Dunbar increased the margin to 49-39 and forced Tar Heels coach Roy Williams to take a timeout.

Against Kansas, the avalanche of three-pointers came early. Friday night, it took Auburn a half to create the separation.

Auburn led the nation in three-pointers made entering the game, with 421; that’s the fourth-highest mark in NCAA history. The Tigers had five at halftime and finished with 17.

“We are who we are,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We thought there were some things we could do to get our guys open.”

The big gun in the second half was Danjel Purifoy. A non-starter who averages 11 minutes per game, Purifoy banged in four of six from deep for his 12 points.

“I’ll never use my halftime talk again because it sure as dickens didn’t work tonight,” Williams said. “I think 17 is the most threes any of my teams have ever given up in 16 years (at North Carolina). It was a bad time to have that happen.”

Rebounding was another success story for the Tigers. North Carolina is the nation’s top rebounding team but won the battle by a mere four, 40-36.

The season comes to a crushing conclusion for the Tar Heels, the top seed that sought to advance to its third Final Four in four years. North Carolina finished 29-7.

Auburn got a huge game from — and perhaps a serious injury to — sophomore big man Chuma Okeke. He led the Tigers with 20 points and 11 rebounds but suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury with about eight minutes remaining. Okeke left the floor for the Tigers’ locker room and did not return.

“It’s a knee injury and we don’t know the status,” Pearl said. “We think it could be serious.”

As Okeke was being examined by medical personnel, players from both teams made their way to check on him — first Auburn teammates, then several North Carolina players.

“It really hurt me to see how much pain he was in,” said Auburn guard Bryce Brown, Okeke’s roommate at school and on road trips. “It didn’t just hurt me, it hurt the whole team. You could see it in all of our faces. We got in here after the game and prayed twice.

“I kinda feel like the celebration tonight won’t be as sweet. We’re missing one of our soldiers.”

The game started at a breakneck pace. During one early stretch, the teams combined for three baskets in 16 seconds.

For a moment it seemed like the early tempo broke the scoreboard. With 6:59 remaining in the half, Sprint Center’s overhead scoreboards froze. The game proceeded for three minutes with public address announcer Mark Fitzpatrick updating the crowd every so often with the score and time left.

As the final seconds ticked away, fans from Auburn and Kentucky teamed up for a “S-E-C! ... S-E-C!” chant. The last time such a cheer was heard in Sprint Center, Missouri had just won the 2012 Big 12 Tournament and was soon off to the Southeastern Conference.

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Auburn runs away from top-seeded North Carolina in 97-80 victory in Midwest Regional."