It’s time for the fourth big, early-season, nonconference matchup that head coach Jon Scheyer scheduled for his Blue Devils. He certainly didn’t want Duke to coast through the first part of their season, so the Crazies whipped out their sleeping bags for a couple days’ worth of tenting to welcome No. 2 Auburn to Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night.
The Tigers are hot. They’re undefeated and they just won the Maui Invitational with a performance that practically blew Memphis right off the island. Auburn defeated the other Tigers by 14 points after beating out North Carolina in the semifinals by seven. Head coach Bruce Pearl’s group has also taken down a then-No. 4 Houston team and a then-No. 5 Iowa State battalion. If the Blue Devils can beat the Tigers, they will be the first team to all year.
It won’t be easy. Here’s why.
Senior forward Johni Broome didn’t struggle to notch a double-double against Memphis. The Plant City, Fla., native dominated the boards with 16 rebounds while also shooting near and far to put up 21 points for Auburn. He passed six assists and blocked four shots en route to winning Maui Invitational tournament MVP — an honor well-deserved given that this was his third double-double in as many games at the tournament. An All-American Third Team pick for last season, Broome stands out as a versatile big man, good at using his 6-foot-10 frame to get open in the paint and put up quick points, or to do the same off of a defensive rebound. Here’s a lot of that from last year’s ACC/SEC challenge:
Graduate center Dylan Cardwell is veteran not just in the game but with the Tigers. In his fifth year at Auburn, Cardwell is only improving: He scored a career-high 18 points against Memphis on 8-for-8 shooting last weekend while also serving six assists. He has averaged 5.6 points per game this season, but his presence on the court is huge, even if it’s not one that shows up on stat sheets. Big but speedy, the Augusta, Ga., native always finds a way to get open in the paint so that the Tigers can hold onto their ball.
Now in his second year at Auburn, senior guard-forward combo Chad Baker-Mazara has had a smashing start to the season after being tabbed to the SEC All-Tournament team last spring. He averages 12.6 points per game with a 44.8% success rate from deep and has scored 21 points from the stripe this season out of 24 chances. He scored 14 points against Memphis but, more notably, tallied five assists. With an athletic, 6-foot-7 build, Baker-Mazara is able to muscle his way into the paint when he’s not set up to shoot from outside.
Despite a poor, two-point showing against Memphis, senior guard Miles Kelly, a transfer from Georgia Tech, will likely get a start Wednesday night. Kelly typically contributes significant points for his team; he had 15 against North Carolina, second only to Broome in scoring. He led the Yellow Jackets in points last season, notably shooting at a 32.1% clip from behind the arc. With Auburn so far, Kelly has improved that mark to 41%. The Georgia native knows ACC ball, thanks to his three years in Atlanta, making him scrappy and quick as well as an impressive shooter.
Also in his second year with the program, senior guard Denver Jones has proven his Tiger stripes with defense. Though Jones averages 11.1 points per game on the season, landing 41.2% of field goals and 34.5% from the arc, he shines with a nifty grace on the defensive end of things. The FIU transplant has seven steals this season.
The common denominator with this group of Tigers is that the whole roster can shoot well and move quickly. Broome is their biggest star, but he doesn’t do all the heavy lifting by himself. Duke’s team tells a similar story: Flagg, of course, stands out, but the Blue Devils are rife with talent otherwise. The tricky thing with Auburn coming to visit is that the home team will have to truly take advantage of all its talent in order to defend Cameron Indoor against these ruthless Tigers.
Duke tips off against Auburn at 9:15 p.m.
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.