Auburn Secures NIT Win, Advances to Semifinals

0:00It's March 26th. Welcome to Birmingham News Today, powered by AI. Top-seated Auburn grabbed a 75-69 win over number two Nevada in the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament on Wednesday night. It marked the first ever matchup between the programs, with the Tigers leading for nearly 40 minutes and Neville Arena. This victory locked in Auburn's 5th straight 20-win season and pushed their nation-leading non-coference home winning streak to 67 games. It also sends them to their deepest run ever in the NIT. Auburn built a double-digit lead by halftime, dominating inside, with strong defense that limited Nevada's outside shooting. The Wolfpack fought back in the second half, outscoring the Tigers and cutting the gap to six points late. But Auburn responded with key runs to seal the deal. Freshman Philip Jovich stepped up huge down low, scoring 18 points on 9 of 12 shots, while nearly grabbing a double-double on rebounds. Shahad Petiford added 16 points, Elijah Freeman had 15, and Kishan Hall chipped in 14.

1:06The Tigers shot 49% from the floor overall. One ongoing issue showed up again. Auburn's 3-point defense weakened after the break, allowing the Nevada to hit 507 from deep. Still, the early cushion proved enough to hold off the rally. Auburn heads to the semi-finals against Illinois State on April 2nd and Henkel Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where they'll aim to keep the momentum, rolling.