Bruce Pearl was upfront with reporters after Auburn’s first-round win over Alabama State.

“We won’t beat Creighton playing the way we played tonight,” he said.

The Tigers answered the call Saturday night, beating nine-seed Creighton 82-70. The Blue Jays put together a solid performance against the No. 1 overall seed, but Auburn did enough to keep its season alive.

It sets up a Sweet Sixteen matchup with Michigan next weekend, as Auburn gets past the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since its Final Four run in 2019.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

The energy was back

The biggest complaint from Pearl and a few of Auburn’s players after the Alabama State win was the Tigers’ lack of energy.

It didn’t take long for Auburn to prove it had the energy and sense of urgency from earlier in the season back against Creighton. The Tigers were relentless on defense, and despite some early 3s from the Blue Jays, Auburn showed improvement with a handful of forced turnovers and an early shot clock violation.

Auburn was still relatively cold from the field to start the game, but the energy — particularly on defense and the glass — allowed them to compete in the first half.

A big part of that was on the glass. Auburn grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes compared to just one for Creighton. Those eight boards led to 13 second chance points.

It continued in the second half, forcing a much colder shooting half from the Blue Jays. Offensively, Auburn made the plays it needed, the biggest being an and-1 from Denver Jones with just over a minute left.

Surviving the Blue Jay barrage

Creighton picked right back up from where it left off against Louisville when it came to shooting the ball.

The Blue Jays connected on nine of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half, allowing them to take a two-point lead into the break. That effort was led by point guard Steven Ashworth and forward Jackson McAndrew, who combined for 23 first-half points while shooting 8-for-10 from 3.

Round 1 against Louisville was a similar story for Creighton. It made 11 shots from long range on 24 attempts, setting the tone for Saturday’s performance.

Auburn’s 3-point defense is normally solid, going into the game ranked fifth in the country in 3-point percentage allowed. Creighton came into the game shooting 34.2% from 3-point range on the season, but ranks 11th in 3-point attempt rate.

Creighton wasn’t nearly as efficient in the second half, allowing Auburn to eventually break the game open and pull away.

Winning inside

Auburn didn’t light it up from 3-point range like it’s more than capable of doing. But on Saturday, the Tigers didn’t have to.

Auburn won the battle inside, outscoring Creighton 42-24 in the paint and grabbing 11 offensive rebounds. Even against the fifth-tallest team in the country, Auburn was able to more than match the Blue Jays in the paint.

Johni Broome didn’t have his best game, scoring eight points on 4-for-13 shooting. Despite the poor showing offensively, he grabbed five offensive rebounds, helping Auburn build a sizeable advantage on the glass.

The Tigers finished with 19 second chance points, significantly more than Creighton’s six. It was a gritty performance from the Tigers, one that was much needed after the disappointing showing against Alabama State.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m