AUBURN, Ala. – Johni Broome dominated Virginia Tech to the tune of 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Auburn to a 74-57 victory in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge Wednesday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' fifth straight win and 48th consecutive non-conference home triumph.
Broome surpassed his previous Auburn career-high of 27 points while coming within two points of his collegiate best at Morehead State.
"My teammates encouraged me to get that," said Broome, who was 11-for-19 from the field and 8 of 13 from the free-throw line. "Seeing my teammates being more excited than I am, that's big, and it makes me feel great. I was trying to play as hard as I could."
Valuing possessions at an elite level, Auburn committed a season-low eight turnovers while forcing 21, leading to a commanding 30-5 lead in points off turnovers.
"A great defensive effort to turn that team over 21 teams," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "I think the kids are starting to get excited about guarding in such a way that can frustrate the opponent, which leads to transition and some fun things. That team doesn't turn the ball over. We were able to make it difficult for them offensively, and we got great rim protection."
Tre Donaldson scored seven consecutive Auburn points early in the second half to restore the Tigers' double-digit lead after Virginia Tech had gotten within seven.
Broome took over from there, scoring 14 points in the second half after netting 16 in the first.
The Tigers won by 17 points despite making only 2 of 16 3-point attempts, holding Virginia Tech to 27.5-percent shooting.
Students in The Jungle, who filled their courtside seats 90 minutes before tipoff, chanted "SEC, SEC!" as the game concluded.
"That one matters double because it's the ACC/SEC Challenge," Pearl said. "If we're going to establish Auburn as one of the better teams in the SEC, you've got to be able to be trusted to deliver against that league. The crowd can take our guys to another level, and it can bother some other opponents. We've got the best home-court advantage in college basketball."
"What Bruce has done here is quite remarkable," Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. "He's a heck of a basketball coach. They've got a good outfit, very explosive offense. Auburn's very good, exceptionally well-coached, and they're going to go on and have a really good year."
Auburn led 33-24 at the half after holding the Hokies to 33-percent shooting and forcing 12 turnovers while committing only four.
The Tigers took an early 18-4 lead with Chad Baker-Mazara accounting for half of those points, including going 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Baker-Mazara filled up the box score in the half with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in the half, finishing with 15 points.
"We're really good when he's on the floor because he knows how to play," Pearl said. "He has stuff you can't teach. He can obviously score but he can also pass. He's a stat sheet stuffer."
Broome stole a pass, left the ball for Aden Holloway and sprinted downcourt to receive and slam Holloway's no-look lob to put Auburn ahead 25-10.
After a 9-0 Virginia Tech run pulled the Hokies within six points, Broome stopped the run with a dunk, then made a pair of free throws before VT scored the last four points of the half.
Both teams struggled from 3-point range in the half, with Chaney Johnson accounting for Auburn's only make in 11 attempts while the Hokies were 1-for-7. Donaldson hit a 3-pointer in the second half and finished with nine points.
Auburn (5-1) travels to Boone, North Carolina, Saturday to play Appalachian State at noon CT on ESPN2.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
VIRGINIA TECH POSTGAME NOTES
>> Auburn's victory evens the all-time series against St. Bonaventure, 1-1. The Bonnies won the only previous meeting between the two teams 77-73 in the 1967 Tampa Invitational.
>> Auburn extended its non-conference win streak at Neville Arena to 48 consecutive games with the win over Virginia Tech.
>> All five of Auburn's wins this season have been by at least 15 points and have come by an average margin of 20.6 points.
>> The Tigers have held each of their last four opponents to 60 or fewer points – Notre Dame (59), St. Bonaventure (60), Alabama A&M (54) and Virginia Tech (57). It is the first time Auburn has held four straight opponents to no more than 60 points since the 2007-08 season.
>> Johni Broome scored 30 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against the Hokies. The 30 points marked an Auburn career high for Broome and was two points off his overall career high (32 points), which he set against Murray State in 2022 while playing for Morehead State. It was Broome's 15th straight game in double figures including all six this season.
>> Broome has recorded three double-doubles on the season and 49 for his career. He is the first Auburn player with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds since former Tiger Mustapha Heron scored 31 points and pulled down 10 boards against Winthrop on Nov. 24, 2017. It was the 97th 30-point game in program history.
>> Denver Jones scored eight points on the night to surpass 1,000 points for his career. Jones scored 953 points in two seasons at FIU and has scored 51 points this season, giving him 1,004 career points to date.
>> Chad Baker-Mazara scored a season-high 15 points on 5-of-10 field goals and added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in the victory. For the first time this season, he reached double figures in the first half alone (11 of his 15 points).
>> A sellout crowd of 9,121 fans contributed to the Tigers' 42nd consecutive sold-out game at Neville Arena.
>> Auburn scored 30 points on 21 Virginia Tech turnovers on the night. It was the most turnovers the Tigers have forced since forcing 24 turnovers against UConn on Nov. 24, 2021.
>> Auburn's season-high 11 steals were the most since recording 12 steals against Arkansas in last year's SEC Tournament. Aden Holloway led the way in the category with a career-best three steals.
>> AU committed only eight turnovers against Virginia Tech. It was the fewest turnovers for the Tigers since they had eight turnovers against Houston in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
>> Auburn scored a season-high 42 points in the paint against Virginia Tech, surpassing its 40 points in the paint versus Alabama A&M on Nov. 21.
