No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State will meet Monday in the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii, in a clash of college basketball powers that has more the look of a tournament championship game than that of a first-round contest.
While the high-level matchup is unusual for the opening round, it does give the Tigers and Cyclones a chance to see how they stack up among the NCAA elite.
And although Iowa State (3-0) has hammered three mid-major teams, Auburn (4-0) already owns a measuring-stick victory at then-No. 4 Houston on Nov. 9.
Now comes more challenging competition as the tournament includes No. 2 UConn and No. 10 North Carolina, as well as three other teams that arrive in Maui with undefeated records — Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.
“The next four games are against Elite 8-caliber teams,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, referring to the tournament games as well as including a Dec. 4 date at Duke. “It’ll be a true test and a true measure of where we’re at.”
The Tigers are currently at a good place. In addition to their win over Houston, they’ve beaten up on three mid-majors.
Johni Broome made 13 of 17 shots to finish with 30 points in Auburn’s 102-69 victory over North Alabama on Monday. He also pulled down 17 rebounds, while Dylan Cardwell made 5 of 6 shots to finish with 12 points.
“Our bigs shot an incredible percentage,” Pearl said. “Johni and Dylan are two of the best centers in college basketball and we’ve got both of them.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the Tigers’ starters scored in double figures. Denver Jones delivered 13 points and nine assists in the win.
Playing three games in three days will be a big change for Iowa State, which has been one of the least active teams in Division I. Its only three games have come on the three Mondays in November.
“We’ve had these experiences in years past. Last year it didn’t go as well,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said, referring to last November when the Cyclones lost two of three games in the ESPN Events Invitational.
“Yes, you want to win every game, but last year we had a great season and we weren’t as good at this point,” Otzelberger said of his team, which went 29-8 and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
With five double-digit scorers, the Cyclones have shown balance, led by backcourt players Curtis Jones (15 points per game), Tamin Lipsey (13.7) and Keshon Gilbert (12.3).
St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson recorded his first double-double for his new team by collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds in Iowa State’s 87-52 victory over IU Indianapolis last Monday. He made all seven of his shots from the floor.
On Monday night, the Cyclones face a team that is “playing as well or better than anyone in the country,” Otzelberger said.
“They’re a tremendous team. They pressure defensively, really get after you. They’ve got tremendous depth. They try to wear you down,” Otzelberger said. “In the Houston game, Houston had the lead early and that’s what happened.”
