The NCAA tournament is known for players creating names for themselves and creating iconic moments.

Creighton freshman Jackson McAndrew was well on his way to joining those names, after scoring 12 points all from 3-pointers in the first half.

The second half was a different story, McAndrew went scoreless, and his Creighton team went home while Auburn went to the Sweet 16.

What changed? The Tigers turned up the intensity on defense.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl tested his group after its first-round game against Alabama State. In the first half, Creighton played lights out and Auburn still trailed by just two points.

“The halftime talk was easy. ‘Guys, they’ve banged nine threes. We’ve missed a couple of inside shots. We’re shooting 38 percent. And we’re down a bucket. Are you kidding me?’,” Bruce Pearl said Saturday. “Creighton had to be saying ‘how are we only up two points? We made nine threes. We should be up by double digits.’”

Creighton shot 64% from 3-point territory in the first half, producing majority of the Blue Jays offense. Auburn held Creighton leading scorer Ryan Kalkbrenner to five points in the early going and eight total points from inside the paint.

The Tigers cut off the 3-point line in the second half as the Blue Jays shot 23% from deep in that half. Kalkbrenner finished with 18 points. However, the presence of Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell shutdown the Blue Jays leader.

“They got their 17-assist average but for us to score 82 and shoot 60 percent in the second half, I thought we controlled the game in the second half with our offense,” Bruce Pearl added.

“I would say fatigue could have been a bit of a factor because of the way we guard. It kind of makes Creighton have to work really hard to get open and get looks.”

Cardwell’s plus-24 in plus-minus led the team earning him Auburn’s Gatorade player of the game. Broome was quiet on the offensive end with eight points. But his 12 rebounds allowed the Tigers to score 42 points from inside the paint.

“We really worked harder at getting our Bigs up to the level. We talked about it in the first half,” Pearl said. “But our Bigs were still playing too far back from their men and not able to get out there and impact those ball screens and keep Creighton on the perimeter.”

The Tigers also led the game with five steals and four blocks. Chad Baker-Mazara, Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford combined for 55 of the Tigers 82 points.

“It just goes to show that we have a lot of guys that’s willing to make plays, man. Obviously, every night is not going to be everybody’s night,” Jones said postgame.

“Some people are going to have it going more than others and that’s exactly what [Johni Broome] was doing, just making winning plays out there, just helping us win the ballgame.”

Auburn advances to the Sweet 16 and will face off against the Big 10 champion Michigan Wolverines, for a spot in the Elite Eight.

“We played like we’ve been playing all year long, just sharing it. Coach McDermott told me after the game that we’ve got a really good team. So do they, and our guys played up to their ability Saturday tonight. I’m proud of them.”

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].