2023-11-08 02:00:00
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AUBURN, Ala. – There is only one team in the SEC who will open the 2023-24 season once morest a Top 25 opponent. Not Kentucky. Not Arkansas. Not Tennessee. It’s Auburn. The Tigers will begin their season Tuesday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota once morest No. 20 Baylor.
“People ask me, ‘Why the game? Why’d you take the game? Why go all the way to South Dakota?’ It’s real simple. Just to try to stay relevant in the world of college basketball, which is harder and harder to do now,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.
“Baylor is a preseason top 20 team. We’re not. Baylor has three guys that have been selected in various forms of All-Big 12 stuff. We have one in Johni Broome.”
Broome, a First Team All-SEC selection, is expected to play Tuesday following injuring his shoulder in last week’s exhibition game. Pearl also anticipates freshman Aden Holloway will make his Auburn debut in the season opener following missing the exhibition game.
But nobody quite knows what to expect from this Auburn team, not even Pearl. It’s a group that includes some familiar faces from last year while also mixing in a talented group of newcomers, including transfers Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson who all scored 14 or more points in the exhibition to lead the Tigers in scoring.
That’s why you schedule a team like Baylor, though.
“We’re going to get exposed,” Pearl said. “What I mean by exposed is what are we not very good at? What are we going to struggle with? And where do we go from here? In other words, it’s a great opportunity to play a team in the Top 25. We’re not. And so, can we get ourselves in there with a win? That would be a tremendous way to start the season.
“We’ve got so many quality opponents in the preseason. A week from now we play Notre Dame in Brooklyn. It’s here. How quickly can we adjust?
“I told the guys I really wanted them to remain positive with each other because we have so much teaching to do with so many new guys. Again, we’ve got to kind of throw it out there and know they’re going to be in the heat of the battle and just see how they react. For most, I hope it brings out the best of them. For some, there will be challenges.”
“The bottom line, no matter what, we need to grow. We need to keep getting better. That’s what I’ve talked to the guys regarding, and I think they’re prepared for that.”
Auburn and Baylor will tip off at 8 p.m. CT from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app. The game will be televised on ESPN.
PLAYER TO WATCH: JAYLIN WILLIAMS
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in May, Jaylin Williams chose to come back for his fifth and final year on The Plains. Last season, he was the team’s third-leading scorer (11.2 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.7 rpg). Williams is on the cusp of becoming the winningest player in program history. With 87 career victories, he’s currently tied with former Tigers Allen Flanigan (2019-23), Anfernee McLemore (2016-20) and Scott Pohlman (1997-2001). He is also 117 points away from recording his 1,000th career point.
INSIDE THE SERIES: BAYLOR
Baylor leads 5-2 in the all-time series with Auburn. The Tigers and Bears met three times between 1948 and 1958 and did not play once more for 37 years. Auburn’s two victories came on Dec. 6, 1958 in Auburn (W, 71-60) and Dec. 9, 1995 in Waco (W, 83-64). The two teams last met in Waco as part of the 2021 Big 12/SEC Challenge with the Bears claiming an 84-72 victory. Jaylin Williams led the Tigers with 17 points.
AUBURN IN SEASON OPENERS
Auburn is 86-31 (.735) all-time in season openers including a 63-9 mark at home, 13-16 on the road, 5-3 at neutral sites and 5-3 at non-recorded sites. The Tigers have won 12 straight season openers including all nine under Bruce Pearl. Auburn’s nine season-opening wins under Pearl have come by an average score of 85.6-68.4 for an average margin of victory of +17.1.
TIGER CARAVAN
This will be Auburn’s first game in the state of South Dakota in program history, making the Mount Rushmore State the 37th different state the Tigers have played in all-time. The only states Auburn has not played in are Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming. It is also the first time Bruce Pearl has coached in the state of South Dakota.
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