No. 1 Auburn escapes No. 23 Georgia with 70-68 win

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Tahaad Pettiford hit 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range, scoring 24 off the bench to help No. 1 Auburn escape No. 23 Georgia with a 70-68 win on Saturday.

Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC) has won 10 in a row and a second straight game without star Johni Broome, who injured his ankle in a Jan. 11 win over South Carolina.

Georgia (14-4, 2-3) struggled with free throws, making 9 of 20 from the line.

Takeaways

Auburn: The Tigers earned a Top 25 win without leading scorer Broome (17.9 points per game).

Georgia: The Bulldogs suffered their first home loss of the season (11-1). The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum — the fourth longest home winning streak in program history.

Key moment

Down 70-67 with nine seconds to play in regulation, Georgia had a chance to tie the game at 70 after a Miles Kelly turnover led to Dakota Leffew getting a look from 3 with seven seconds to go. His shot was too strong. Asa Newell had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but missed.

Key stat

The Tigers tallied 32 points off the bench in Broome’s absence.

Up next

Auburn hosts No. 6 Tennessee on Jan 25. Georgia visits Arkansas on Tuesday night.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up