NCAA Basketball: Clemson rolls past Auburn to earn Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas

SAN DIEGO – Goodbye, San Diego.

Hello, Omaha.

Playing like a team intent of reaching its first Sweet 16 in 21 years, Clemson did just that in dominant fashion Sunday, rolling past Auburn 84-53 in a second-round game of the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional at Viejas Arena.

"We have older guys that really believe in what we're doing," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. "We talked about that at the beginning of the year. I thought this team could be really good."

Sunday evening the Tigers were better than that.

Clemson bolted to a 24-point halftime lead and apparently was just getting warmed up. The Tigers extended their lead to as many as 41 points in the second half before settling for a 31-point victory -- the largest margin of victory in program history against a Top 25 opponent as well as in an NCAA Tournament game.

The victory pushed Clemson’s record to 25-9, matching the school record for victories in a season, and gave the Tigers a spot opposite perennial power Kansas Friday in Omaha, Nebraska.

Kansas (29-7) is top seed in the Midwest Regional and ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The Jayhawks advanced to their 31st Sweet 16 with wins against Penn (76-60) and Seton Hall (83-79), respectively, in the first two rounds.

Unbeknownst to Clemson's players, baseball coach Monte Lee sent Clemson baseball caps inscribed with "Omaha" on the back with the team to San Diego. Brownell's players found them waiting in the locker room after their record-setting triumph.

"I might try to go out there and get in a baseball swing myself since we'll be in Omaha," freshman forward Aamir Simms said.

Clemson, which defeated New Mexico State 79-68 on Friday to advance to the second round, will be making its third Sweet 16 appearance. The Tigers are the No. 5 seed in the Midwest and ranked No. 18 in the coaches poll.

Clemson and Auburn were tied 13-13 with 11:42 left in the first half before Clemson took command with a 22-2 run, sparked primarily by outstanding defense. Clemson blocked four shots, forced five turnovers and had 10 fast-break points in the first half in building a 43-19 lead.

Auburn (26-8) missed its last 18 shots in a row to end the first half.

The Tigers sealed the deal quickly in the second half, opening the half with a 27-10 run to push their lead to 41, 70-29, with 11:33 remaining.

Senior guard Gabe DeVoe led Clemson with 22 points.

"You work this hard all year to be in this position," DeVoe said. "You want to show up on the biggest stages, and so far we've been able to do that."

Junior center Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season while junior guards Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell added 16 and 10 points, respectively.

Clemson outrebounded Auburn by a whopping 50-32 margin and held Auburn to 26-percent shooting from the floor – its lowest percentage of the season.

"They dominated us," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, whose team won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title. "Obviously we're very disappointed with the way we played tonight and how we represented our conference."

Clemson has won six consecutive games against SEC opponents over the last two seasons.