Auburn did not let the disappointment of missing the NCAA Tournament field get in the way of playing good postseason basketball.
The Southeastern Conference school will seek its first NIT championship when it battles with Tulsa in the title game Sunday night in Indianapolis.
The Tigers (21-16) will bring an explosive offense led by top scorer Keyshawn Hall (19.5 points per game) and guard Tahaad Pettiford (15.2 points, 3.7 assists) into the game against the Golden Hurricane (30-7).
First-year Auburn coach Steven Pearl likes his squad’s approach so far, especially after starting center KeShawn Murphy opted out.
Over four NIT victories, the team has averaged 83 points per game and had spurts of fiery offense.
Overall, the Tigers have made 117 of 236 field goals (49.6%) and canned 43 of 115 (37.4%) from outside the arc in the NIT.
The team has rediscovered some happiness along the way.
“I just thought that it was an opportunity to get valuable reps for our players,” said Pearl. “I thought we’ve played with purpose. They’ve found some joy in playing the game, which has been really, really cool to see, and they’re locked in and engaged.”
The club lost nine of its final 12 SEC games including the tournament and was 7-11 in the league, but that appears to be old news to the remaining players.
“That’s all we’ve been talking about recently: Just coming in here, handling business, and finishing the season off right,” said Elyjah Freeman, who appeared to hurt his knee late in Thursday’s tilt but said he was feeling better Friday.
Owning NIT championships in 1981 and 2001, Tulsa has marched its way to the second 30-win season in program history thanks to its extended run to the championship.
Current Kansas coach Bill Self led the 1999-00 Tulsa team to a 32-5 mark and an appearance in the Elite Eight while playing in the Western Athletic Conference.
In Thursday’s 74-69 win over New Mexico, the American Conference squad turned to Tylen Riley.
The junior guard netted nine of his 10 points in the game’s final 4:16. He also produced six rebounds and five assists in a balanced approach.
Riley said his teammates’ reliability on one another is a major strength.
“These are a great group of guys,” said the Las Vegas native, who averages 14.8 points. “When one guy is down, everybody else is going. That’s what happens when you have a great team (and) two starting fives. You’ve always got somebody going even when somebody’s off.”
David Green paces the Golden Hurricane at 15.7 points, while Miles Barnstable and Ade Popoola put in 14.7 and 10.8, respectively.
