AuburnFamilyNews.com: 43 Days to Tip-Off

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One of the best plays of last season happened in this game...

Writer’s Note: So yesterday I mentioned at the end of Chris Denson’s article that we would go back to 2009-2010 today but upon further review, I realized that I had calculated something wrong so that game’s been moved to later this week.

That said, I’m sure you all will be just fine with who shows up at #43 instead.

Today, we start with this. I present to you Jared Harper vs. Xavier.

Total Points: 25

Date: November 19, 2018

Opponent: Xavier (Maui Invitational)

Final Score: Auburn 88 Xavier 79 (OT)

“That dunk’s gonna be on SportsCenter.”

Spoiler alert: Dan Shulman was right and it was #1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays that day. Harper played 43 minutes and was 9-17 from the field, 3-9 from 3 point range, 4-6 from the free throw line and threw down two dunks that wowed the crowd along with Shulman and Jay Bilas. But Harper did more than just destroy rims that day, he also had 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in this game.

He and Bryce Brown combined for 51 of Auburn’s 88 points in this Overtime win over Xavier which set up a matchup the following night with Duke. The Maui Invitational was a really good test for Auburn and a 3rd place finish in the tournament was to me a successful trip to the islands. Just remember, Duke, Gonzaga, and Auburn all played in last year’s Maui Invitational and Auburn was the only team from that field to make it to Minneapolis.

Seeing Jared Harper take over at the end of Overtime was something I won’t forget. His dunk and runner with a minute left to play finally put the Musketeers away. And it’s always fun to relive this game by watching videos from it so here’s a pair of videos for you to watch on this Monday!