Tahaad Pettiford and Auburn are moving on to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

No. 1 Auburn had a big second half to pull away from No. 9 Creighton 82-70 and advance to the Sweet 16.

The Blue Jays led 37-35 at the break before Auburn flipped the game in the second half. The Tigers outscored Creighton 14-6 after the game was tied 48-48 with 14:44 remaining even though Chad Baker-Mazara had to be subbed out because of a hip injury.

Baker-Mazara had sparked the Tigers in the second half and injured his hip driving to the lane. He made two free throws after getting fouled on the play, but fell to the ground as he asked for a replacement while jogging backward up the court.

He was able to return to the game nine minutes later, but by that time the Tigers had a comfortable lead. Any chance of a Creighton upset disappeared with 1:11 to go when Denver Jones converted an and-one to give the Tigers a nine-point advantage.

Creighton led at halftime thanks to a 9-of-14 shooting performance from the 3-point line. The Blue Jays’ deep shooting reverted to the mean in the second half with a 3-of-13 performance as Auburn shot 58% from the field in the final period.

It’s Auburn’s first appearance in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament since the Tigers made the 2019 Final Four as a No. 5 seed. Since then, Auburn lost in the second round as a No. 2 seed in 2022 and a No. 9 seed in 2023. A year ago, the No. 4 Tigers fell to No. 13 Yale in the first round.

Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with 22 points as Baker-Mazara had 17.

The loss denies Creighton a chance at a third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The Blue Jays lost in the Sweet 16 in 2024 after losing in the Elite Eight in 2023.