No Johni Broome for Auburn was again no problem for the top-ranked Tigers as they extended their winning streak to 10 games on Saturday and successfully stiff-armed a scare from No. 23 Georgia to win 70-68 on the road. Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC) led for all but a short stint in the opening minute of play, but Georgia (14-4, 2-3) got within two points in the closing seconds, and had two good looks at a chance to tie the game and potentially force overtime, both of which found an unkind iron.
Georgia’s first game-tying attempt came from Dakota Leffew on a corner 3-point attempt with under nine seconds remaining off a forced turnover in transition. It then scrapped for the offensive rebound and got one final look at the bucket as time expired from Asa Newell, whose lob at the horn came up short.
Auburn freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford scored 24 points in the win to lead all scorers while teammates Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly each added 13 in the winning effort. It marked a new career-high for Pettiford in scoring, and he also added a pair of assists and three boards.
Pettiford’s outing overshadowed what was a tremendous outing from fellow freshman Newell as he led Georgia with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Eleven of Newell’s 16 points came in the second half as UGA staged a comeback in front of the home crowd that fell just short.
Georgia has been among the bigger surprises among SEC teams this season, matching its best start since the 2010-11 season under Mark Fox. But Mike White’s club, which has wins over Kentucky and Oklahoma under its belt the last two weeks, struggled to defend Auburn’s high-octane offense and struggled with its own scoring to keep up in the fight.
Georgia was particularly damaged by 11 misses on shots that qualified as layups in the game on 23 attempts, and it finished just 7 of 20 from 3-point range. UGA also lost the turnover battle and Auburn converted 13 points off those turnovers.
Auburn keeps its near-perfect record intact with its last — and only — loss coming at Duke on Dec. 4. The Tigers took over at the top of the rankings this week from Tennessee and will all but assuredly retain that position Monday after two wins over SEC opponents this week, culminating with the road win vs. the Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Tigers have a week to rest and recharge ahead of what may be the best SEC game of the season next Saturday as No. 6 Tennessee heads to Auburn to face the top-ranked Tigers inside Neville Arena. Tennessee was ranked No. 1 for five consecutive weeks before dropping to No. 6 this week, during which Auburn was ranked No. 2 behind the Vols before vaulting to No. 1.
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