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Halftime notes: Auburn vs (10) Xavier

Hot shooting and stingy defense have number 10 Xavier ahead of Auburn 39-30 at the intermission.

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

It's halftime in Cincinnati and number 10 Xavier leads Auburn 39-30. Auburn, the 8th ranked scoring offense in the country, hasn't been able to get much going against #10 Xavier, who came in as the 35th ranked defense.

Here's everything you'll need to get caught up:

  • Xavier has the advantage on the boards: 21-12 total, 7-2 offensive, with nine coming from the duo of Jalen Reynolds and Trevon Bluiett.
  • Xavier has also won the turnover battle with nine assists to five turnovers while Auburn has five assists and seven turnovers. Xavier's defense was a problem for Auburn early on as the Musketeers picked up five steals.
  • For both teams, it's been a one man show. Xavier's Jalen Reynolds leads the team with 14 points and five rebounds while Auburn's leading scorer Kareem Canty has kept up stride. Canty has 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc with three rebounds and two assists.
  • Tahj Shamsid-Deen of Auburn appeared to have re-injured his left shoulder on a drive to the basket and has not returned to the game. Shamsid-Deen has missed 14 of the last 18 games with a shoulder separation and has had surgery on both shoulders during his career.
  • Auburn has shown some resilience. After being down by 16 at one point and Xavier looking like they may pull away, Auburn has been able to close the gap to nine points - their first halftime deficit of the season.
  • Both teams need some key players to step up. Auburn's Tyler Harris - averaging 17 points per game - has only taken one shot with 3 rebounds. For Xavier, it's Myles Davis who is scoreless thus far on 0-4 shooting with three of those misses coming from behind the arc. Their star and leading scorer Trevon Bluiett (14.6 points per game) has only contributed three points, which came on a 3-pointer, and they'll need more from him in order to put Auburn away.