RECAP: No. 4 Auburn squashes Memphis in Maui Invitational championship

Memphis basketball finally ran out of steam Wednesday afternoon.

The Tigers (6-1) fell for the first time this season to No. 4 Auburn 90-76 in the Maui Invitational championship game at the Lahaina Civic Center. Memphis finishes the tournament 2-1 with wins over No. 2 UConn and Michigan State. Penny Hardaway’s club now gets a week off before hosting Louisiana Tech next Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).

Memphis shot 50% from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range. It also compiled 9 forced turnovers, 8 offensive rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. The Tigers outscored Auburn 45-43 in the second half.

Bruce Pearl’s team (7-0) shot 57% on field goals and 33% on 3-pointers. It also outrebounded Memphis 32-26 while putting up 23 assists, 11 offensive boards, 11 forced turnovers, 6 steals and 5 blocks. Auburn led wire-to-wire.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ loss.

Johni Broome takes over

Memphis had no answers for the All-American candidate.

Broome, a 6-foot-11 forward, dominated from the jump with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks on 50% shooting in the first half alone. It’s his second consecutive game recording a double-double in the first half, and fifth straight outing with a double-double of any kind.

Broome concluded his day with 21 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks while shooting 53% overall and 50% from beyond the arc. Dylan Cardwell, another 6-foot-11 big, scored 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting. Chad Baker-Mazara (14) and Denver Jones (11) also eclipsed double digits.

Auburn creates additional offense

Auburn did all the little things right against Memphis.

Pearl’s team finished the first half on 51% shooting compared to 44% for Memphis, but it also attempted 10 more field goals than Hardaway’s group did. Auburn scored 14 points off 7 Memphis turnovers, and 16 points off 10 offensive rebounds before halftime. It led by as many as 20 points during the opening period.

Memphis finished the game with just as many points off turnovers and 14 second-chance points.

Tyrese Hunter gets shut down

The 6-foot guard scored 49 combined points against UConn and Michigan State, but he had a very quiet showing in Wednesday’s game.

Hunter didn’t score in the first half despite playing for 19 minutes. PJ Haggerty kept Memphis in striking distance, however, with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the opening period. Colby Rogers and Nick Jourdain also dropped 7 and 6 points respectively before halftime.

Hunter finally got on the board with a 3-pointer at the 16:34 mark in the second half. He finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Haggerty led all scorers with 27 points to go with 9 rebounds and a steal on 55% shooting. Rogers and Dain Dainja chipped in 15 points each. Dainja, who fouled out for the second game in a row, also secured 5 rebounds.