This year’s national player Johni Broome gets most of the attention for top -ranked Auburn’s star season, but other players have gone up to deliver key performances.
It was senior guard Miles Kelly who distinguished himself in that role in Tiger’s last competition and he will make sure to deliver another strong excursion when Auburn is facing No. 22 Texas A&M on Tuesday evening in Southeastern Conference Play at College Station, Texas.
The tigers (27-2, 15-1 sec) have nothing to play on Tuesday after dressing the straight regular seasonal title on Saturday and no one questions their references as a No 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Texas A&M (20-9, 9-7) figures to be quite hungry after losing four games in a row.
Auburn comes from a fantastic victory 94-78 over then-no. 17 Kentucky, its first victory in Lexington in 37 years and only its third in 54 total visits.
Kelly was hotter than Lava when he made a career best nine 3 points and got a season high 30 points. He personally finished Tiger’s 20-game losing row on Kentucky’s floor.
“At Shootaround, I fell in love with the rims,” Kelly said. “Everything I put up at Shootaround went in. I knew I would get some look early and I beat them down. My teammates did a good job of finding me.”
The great performance Lifted Kelly’s point average to 11.5, third on the squad behind Broome (18.4) and Chad Baker-Mazara (13.0). He has beaten a team best 69 Treys and makes 41.1 percent of his shots behind the bow.
Kelly spent three seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to Auburn after last season.
He established career heights in points (14.4 points per match) and 3-points (89) as another with the yellow jackets. But as a junior, his total shooting fell to 36.9 percent and his competence from the 3-point interval was only 32.1 percent.
Baker-Mazara matched her season high at 22 points against Kentucky and Reserve Tahaad Pettiford scored 21 points in a day where Broome had only nine points.
Texas A&M sailed together with five straight wins before the current four-game image which includes Saturday’s loss of 89-70 at then no. 3 Florida.
Aggies had only three assists on 23 baskets and shot 39 percent from the floor towards the streets. Florida exceeded Texas A&M 42-15 from the 3-point line, which can be a good sign for Kelly.
“(Gators) are very skilled in how they play, very effective in how they play,” said Aggies coach Buzz Williams. “I think how we play defensively something encourages three. And so teams that have as many shooters as they have and are equally comfortable with the ball, it will probably lead to high assists and high three.”
Zhuric Phelps got 16 points to lead Aggies and Pharrel Payne added 14.
Wade Taylor IV was only 1 of 7 from 3-point interval while he scored 11 points. Taylor leads Texas A&M in points (15.1) and 3-points (61), but he shoots only 32.4 percent behind the bow.
“I think regardless of opponent, he commands attention,” Williams said of Taylor. “Part of it is because of his ability to score. Part of it is because he makes good decisions in many respects to help our team.”
Texas A&M has also lost because then no. 21 Mississippi State and then no. 6 Tennessee under his slide, but the one who injured the most fell 86-84 at home against Vanderbilt.
The aggies are bound to sixth with Ole Miss in the SEC race and need a great effort on Tuesday. Their final in the regular season is Saturday at LSU.
Auburn won last season’s lonely meeting and sent a visit to Texas A&M 66-55.
-Field level media
