LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing, and experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays 82-70 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16.

Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. Pettiford scored six points during that burst to push the Tigers to a 68-54 lead.

The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, Auburn (30-5) moves on to the South Region semifinals in Atlanta next weekend, where it will face No. 5 seed Michigan. Pearl’s team was upset in the first round by Yale last year and he had not taken Auburn past the second round since it reached its only Final Four in 2019. This time, his goal is the Tigers’ first-ever national title.

Creighton under coach Greg McDermott had reached the Sweet 16 in three of the previous four years. Fifth-year senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 18 points in his final game for the Bluejays (25-11).

The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner banked in a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Creighton and came out on top statistically against 6-10 Auburn All-American Johni Broome, who had eight points on 4-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds. Auburn also got 15 points from Denver Jones.

The game featured seven ties and 16 lead changes, and Creighton's perimeter game was on point throughout the first half. The Blue Jays shot 64% from 3-point range and 52% overall to lead 37-35 at the break.

Creighton went ahead 50-48 on two free throws by Kalkbrenner with 14:13 left. Ten seconds later, Baker-Mazara converted a three-point play and Auburn never trailed again. The Tigers shot 60% in the second half.

Baker-Mazara left the game briefly in the second half with a right hip injury but returned.

Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal scored 13 points each for Creighton, and Jackson McAndrew contributed 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Key moment

Broome had a tip-in as the shot clock expired to make it 66-54 during Auburn's decisive run.

Takeaways

Creighton: Ashworth and McAndrew combined to make 6 of 9 3-pointers and score 23 points before halftime. Ashworth managed just two points in the second half.

Auburn: The Tigers' bench outscored Creighton's 31-10. They also outscored the Bluejays 42-24 in the paint and held them to 42% shooting in the final 20 minutes.

Bryant scores 17 and leads No. 8 Illinois to 1st March Madness win in 25 years over No. 9 Creighton

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 17 points and No. 8 Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years Saturday night with a 66-57 win over No. 9 Creighton.

Illinois' tough defense frustrated Creighton's outside shooters as the Illini also dominated on the boards. Kendall Bostic added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Illinois (22-9), which advances to the second round on Monday against the winner of No. 1 Texas (31-3) against No. 16 William & Mary (16-18).

“I like to say this is a dream come true, just being here first, but then getting a win,” said Illinois guard Adalia McKenzie, who scored 14 points.

“We want to keep playing. We’re not done yet,” McKenzie said. “We’re super hungry and we’re really ready for it.”

Morgan Maly led Creighton (26-6) with 18 points and Lauren Jensen scored 17. But the Bluejays' top scorers all season — both scored more than 2,000 points in their careers — were mostly contained on a tough shooting night. Creighton shot just 36% against a stifling Illinois defense and was just 6 of 22 on 3-pointers.

“I thought we played a little tight,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “It seemed like every time we got back to within three or four or five, they made a big play or two and put it back to eight.”

Illinois led 51-41 early in the fourth quarter before Creighton pulled within 58-54 on Jensen's tough layup through the lane with 2:08 to play.

The rally ended when Bryant missed two free throws for the Illini on the next possession but Berry Wallace grabbed the rebound over two Creighton defenders for an easy putback basket.

“It was amazing just for her to be a freshman, to have the poise to get in there and then finish,” Bryant said. “She’s been making plays like that all year.”

Third-year Illinois coach Shauna Green wanted her team to soak in the feeling of a tournament victory. The program won the WBIT championship last season, and the goal this wasn't just to make the NCAA Tournament but to win there.

“(The win) was really, really important. We came here to get to the NCAA Tournament, to compete for championships,” Green said. “They were resilient all year. I wanted it so badly for this group, and they wanted it badly, too.”

Takeaways

Illinois: Bostic and Berry muscled their way over Creighton defenders time and again as Illinois won the rebounding 42-32 and second-chance scoring 32-22. Illinois came into the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing skid and hadn't won a game since Feb. 16.

Creighton: The Bluejays brought an experienced team with four senior starters who were playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays had not advanced past the second round since 2022 and were clearly expecting a deeper run than a first-round exit.

Key moment

Creighton rallied from an early 12-point deficit to quickly get within two early in the third quarter. But Illinois answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Brynn Shoup-Hill, a 26% 3-point shooter on the season.