Charles Barkley has always been proud of his home teams. “I’m so proud of Alabama and Auburn,” he recently said, amazed by their recent performance. And now Sir Charles is more proud. With a win over Michigan State on Sunday, Johni Broome and the top-ranked Auburn Tigers are going to the Final Four. But do you know what is motivating them? Sir Charles himself.

“Somehow, I’ve got to find a way to win so that Charles Barkley can give Magic Johnson some crap and represent,” Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl said before the match up. He knows Magic has always had the upper hand, flashing his championship rings while Barkley came up empty. But Pearl wants to change that.

“Magic’s always floating those rings at Charles, right? He’s always floating those rings, and Charles ain’t got any rings. I’ve got to try to get some rings for Charles, so he can float them back at Magic.”

As Pearl and Tigers did the first step smoothly, imagine Barkley’s reaction. While we are waiting for it, Magic Johnson has things to say.

Taking to his X account, he wrote, “I want to thank MSU Coach Izzo and especially all of the players for an exciting and entertaining season!” Then, he issued a subtle warning about Auburn’s strength. “It’s disappointing the tournament run has come to an end with this loss to a strong Auburn team, but this season is one that all Spartans fans should be proud of. I can’t wait till next season! ”

However, now surging into the Final Four, the stakes are higher than ever for Charles Barkley and Tigers.

How Barkley’s Tigers dominated Magic’s Spartans?

Charles Barkley saw it coming. Before Auburn’s Elite Eight showdown against Michigan State, he made it clear that just reaching this stage wasn’t enough. “I’m proud of our guys, but we can’t celebrate. We’re the number one overall seed. We didn’t come here to get to the Elite 8,” he said. And his alma mater proved him right.

From the start, Auburn took complete control. A 17-0 run in the first half put the Tigers up 23-8, making it clear they weren’t messing around. Michigan State’s plan to contain Auburn’s star forward, Johni Broome, fell apart fast. Broome had 17 points and 11 rebounds by halftime, and he finished with 25 points and 14 boards. MSU’s defense simply had no answer.

The Spartans had their chances, but their shooting woes were brutal. They went 3-for-13 from deep in the first half and just 27% overall. Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman, crucial to MSU’s offense, missed all seven of their three-point attempts in the first half. Auburn, on the other hand, capitalized on every mistake, turning MSU’s turnovers into easy points.

Even with a nine-point halftime deficit, Michigan State refused to quit. They had erased similar gaps throughout the tournament, but this time, the comeback never materialized. Akins didn’t score until the final minutes, and Holloman went 0-for-10 from the field. With their guards struggling, MSU leaned on Jaxon Kohler and Xavier Richardson, but it wasn’t enough.

Even when Broome briefly left the game with an injury, MSU couldn’t take advantage. Auburn responded to every Spartan push, never surrendering the lead for more than 22 seconds. When the final buzzer sounded, Auburn had sealed a 70-64 win—and Barkley had every reason to celebrate.