After the disappointment of not hearing its named called on Selection Sunday to be part of the March Madness field, Auburn chose to play good basketball and focus on a championship.
The top overall seed in the NIT, the Tigers (20-16) can take one step closer to a title when they face Illinois State on Thursday in the second semifinal at Indianapolis.
Auburn’s approach to the tourney is reflected in the attitude and play of Keyshawn Hall, who leads with season averages of 19.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
“He was one of the main guys when the season ended that wanted to continue to play basketball and made that very vocal,” Tigers coach Steven Pearl said. “And, you know, I give him a ton of credit for that.
“This is still something to compete for and still an opportunity to go out there on national television and show what you’re capable of, and to get some more tape out there.”
Of Illinois State (23-12), Pearl stated: “If you look at the resumes of teams in the NIT, they, by far, have the best one as far as the teams that they’ve beaten.”
While Auburn topped South Alabama, Seattle and Nevada to advance, the Redbirds routed Kent State 79-58, and went on the road to beat Wake Forest 78-75 and Dayton 61-55.
“That speaks to the level they’re playing at right now,” Pearl added.
Pearl noted his club would have to focus on 6-foot-9, 280-pound junior forward Chase Walker, who puts up 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
The Columbus, Ohio, native is shooting 53.9% from the floor after making 58% of his shots last season, when he averaged 15.2 points.
Guard Johnny Kinziger nets 11.7 per game and tops coach Ryan Pedon’s group with 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.
The Redbirds will use a defensive-minded approach to try to rein in the up-tempo Tigers.
In its quarterfinal win over Dayton at a packed venue, Illinois State had to stay steely-eyed and calm in a pressure situation.
“We were just telling each other stick together, stay together,” Kinziger said, according to the Illinois State Vidette. “We wanted to take it one play at a time.”
The victorious team will play either New Mexico or Tulsa in the championship game on Sunday.
