Auburn basketball is only six games into the season and playing for a championship.

After a thrilling win in the final seconds over No. 5 Iowa State on Monday night in Hawaii, the Tigers picked up another victory late Tuesday, defeating No. 10 North Carolina 85-72 in the 2024 Maui Invitational.

This puts Bruce Pearl and the Tigers in the Maui Invitational championship game, with a match against Memphis on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. CST.

In contrast to Monday night’s win, the Tigers won in convincing fashion, leading the Tar Heels for 40 minutes. This increased their record to 6-0 and gave them their third win against a ranked opponent in a young season.

Here are three takeaways from another Auburn win.

Auburn basketball’s Johni Broome is picking up where he left off

Broome’s double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds and a game-winning shot in a career-high 36 minutes were seemingly small potatoes for the All-American.

He picked up where he left off in Monday’s win over fifth-ranked Iowa State: He recorded his 64th career double-double with 23 points and a career-best 19 rebounds. He also added five assists and three blocks.

The Tigers were plus-17 with Broome on the field.

The stars of Auburn basketball are missing a second-half surge

A big game for All-American Broome was the result of a hot start. He recorded his double-double in the first half with 18 points and 10 rebounds before halftime.

However, he was quiet at the start of the second half and didn’t score his first points in that span until 5:47 minutes into the game.

But the Tigers kept the Tar Heels at bay without him, thanks in large part to Chaney Johnson and Miles Kelly.

Johnson himself flirted with a double-double, scoring 11 points and seven rebounds. And Kelly was the Tigers’ second-best scorer with 15 points.

Twelve of Kelly’s 15 points came in the second half, and Johnson also grabbed nine of his points and seven of his rebounds during that span.

Tigers show hustle games make a difference

Auburn had a handful of things to contend with, including an uncharacteristically poor free throw performance from North Carolina.

But the Tigers were as fierce as ever. They forced 10 turnovers and scored 15 points from them. They also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second-chance points.

Adam Cole is the Auburn Athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball takes on UNC, punches ticket to Maui title game