Auburn basketball continues to shock teams, including Kansas in its last game. Now the Tigers face an even bigger opponent now, a powerful North Carolina team.
No. 5 seed Auburn basketball team must get by the No. 1 seed North Carolina Friday evening. The two teams face off in the Sweet 16 round as both squads fight to make the Elite Eight.
Auburn has shown the college basketball world it can defeat top-ranked teams. The Tigers took down Tennessee 84-64 to win its first SEC Championship since 1985.
This Sweet 16 appearance for Auburn is the first since 2003. Auburn is one of four SEC teams that made it to this round of the tournament.
The Tigers haven’t faced an opponent like the Tarheels this season. North Carolina looks to go to their third Final Four in four years. As for Auburn, advancing to the Elite Eight would be the SECOND time ever in program history.
Can Auburn takedown the Tarheels? It is possible, but the Tigers will have to keep doing what they’re doing and hope they don’t go cold on the court.
What to expect from Carolina
Not many teams can keep up with Auburn, but North Carolina can. The Tarheels average 86 points a game and use a lot of players on their roster.
They know how to score points and play defense as they only give up 73 points on average a game. There are four Tarheels that average double-digit points
Leading the way for North Carolina is Cameron Johnson who averages 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds a game.
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However, what makes him so dangerous is that he completes 51 percent of his shots from the floor and 46.3 percent of them from the arc.
Johnson averages 3.5 three-pointers a game and will be the biggest issue for the Tigers.
Colby White averages 16.1 points and 3.9 assists per game. He completes 42.9 percent of his shots from the floor and 36.4 from beyond the three-point line.
White is another Tarheel that can put up a lot of points if the Tigers aren’t careful. The freshman point guard averages 2.7 turnovers a game, which is pretty impressive, but Auburn’s tough defense will challenge that.
Luke Maye averages 14.9 points and 10.6 boards a game. The final Tarheel averaging in double-digit points is Nassir Little. He averages 10 points a game and 4.7 boards a game.
Maye is one of Carolina’s clutch players that can come up big when he needs to. He is a great rebounder and has had five games with 15 or more boards.
Carolina is a well-disciplined team but can get into foul trouble. The Tarheels average 17 fouls a game.
However, they make up for that for their free-throw completion rate. Carolina makes 74.2 percent of its free throws, so the Tigers need to avoid fouling this team if they can.
How Auburn Does it
Auburn is currently on a ten game winning streak and looking to make this one number 11. After embarrassing Tennessee and then Kansas the Tigers proved their success was no fluke.
The Tigers averages 79.8 points a game and allows opponents to score 68.5 points on average a game. They complete 45 percent of their shots from the floor and 37.8 percent from the arc.
Auburn averages 12.2 made 3-pointers a game in their last ten wins. The long ball is where the Tigers continue to make teams hurt.
If Bryce Brown can continue his hot streak then the Tarheels defense will have its hands full.
Brown leads the team with 15.9 points a game. He completes 40.8 percent from the arc and 43.3 percent from the floor.
Jared Harper is the other go-to guy for the Tigers. He averages 15.3 points a game and completes 40 percent of his shots and 37.9 from beyond the three-point line.
Chyma Okeke is the final Tiger who average double-digit points. He averages 11.8 points and 6.7 boards a game.
The biggest key for Auburn is controlling the game pace. Auburn killed Kansas and New Mexico State in transition, however, the Tarheels are on a whole other level.
Auburn allows opponents to shoot 43.3 percent per game and that cannot happen against the Tarheels. The defense needs to play disciplined yet aggressive.
If the Tigers can force North Carolina to work for its shots and get them deep in the shot clock, then they have a chance.
Quick Game Prediction
Yes, I am saying there is a chance that Auburn takes down North Carolina.
However, the Tarheels are one of the most complete teams in the country, and the Tigers cannot let off the throttle. If Auburn can control the pace of the game and keep Carolina unsettled, the Tigers will win this one.
Shoot, Auburn keeps surprising me every game. I never thought that the Tigers would beat Kansas by 14 points, and yet they did.
I’m going bold with my picks tonight and say that Auburn continues its Cinderlla run and beat the Tarheels 89-85. The Tigers advance to the Elite Eight and send North Carolina packing.