NCAA BASKETBALL: Auburn takes down Nevada, earns spot in NIT semifinals

Filip Jovic scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds as top-seeded Auburn defeated visiting Nevada, the No. 2 seed, 75-69 in a quarterfinal NIT matchup Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-8 freshman forward made 9 of 12 shots from the field and pulled down four offensive rebounds.

Auburn (20-16) also received 16 points and six assists from Tahaad Pettiford, 15 points from Elyjah Freeman, and 14 points with six boards from Keyshawn Hall.

The Tigers extended the nation’s longest nonconference home winning streak to 67 straight games, dating back to the 2016-17 season. Auburn will face No. 4 seed Illinois State, which beat No. 2 Dayton 61-55 earlier Wednesday, in a semifinal matchup next Thursday in Indianapolis.

Nevada (24-13) was led by Elijah Price, who finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Vaughn Weems added 15 points, and Corey Camper Jr. contributed 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Pettiford hit a 25-foot shot at 15:27 to give Auburn a 16-8 lead early in the game. Jovic followed with an offensive rebound and dunk at 8:35 to make it 24-13, and Hall and Freeman sank back-to-back deep shots for a 30-14 lead just over a minute later.

Camper scored a layup to close an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 30-22 at 4:26. Jovic then grabbed a long rebound, drove past defenders, and completed a half-court dunk to extend Auburn’s lead to 34-24.

At halftime, Auburn led 38-26, with Jovic’s 12 points and six rebounds setting the pace. Nevada managed only 10 of 28 field goals (35.7%) in the first half.

In the second half, Sebastian Williams-Adams threw down a dunk at 10:58 to give Auburn a 53-37 advantage. Nevada cut the gap to six on Myles Walker’s jumper with 28 seconds remaining, but the Tigers held on for their 20th win and a place in next week’s semifinal.

—Field Level Media/Reuters