Chaney Johnson knew it when Auburn basketball decided it wasn’t flying to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.
“If we drive to the games, I’m already knowing all our fans are going to be there,” Johnson told the Montgomery Advertiser. “So, I knew they were going to show out.”
The Tigers weren’t too far from home in their first two NCAA Tournament games. Wins over 16-seed Alabama State and 9-seed Creighton were three states north of Neville Arena. The fans followed then, but with this year’s South Region being a state over — one hour and 45 minutes from Neville Arena, to be exact — they continued in a 78-65 win over 5-seed Michigan on Friday.
“Our guys really appreciated the fans,” coach Bruce Pearl said. “Obviously, it helped elevate their play.”
It was another theatrical affair. The Tigers trailed the Wolverines by nine points before breaking away with a massive 34-8 second-half run, thanks in large part to some incredible shot-making from freshman Tahaad Pettiford.
“I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to not only see someone make that insane shot, but just the dagger that is the crowd,” Dylan Cardwell said. “You can’t even hear your own fans. You can’t even hear all the Michigan fans who spent money to travel down here. It’s disheartening. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team with this much of a home-court advantage at an away game, at a neutral game.”
